UGSB  LIBRARY 


HEART  TALKS 

ON  HOLINESS 


BY 


COLONEL  S.   L.   BRENGLE 


AUTHOR    OF 


"THE  WAY  OF   HOLINESS,"   "HELPS   TO   HOLI- 
NESS," "THE  SOUL-WINNER'S  SECRET,"  "WHEN 
THE   HOLY  GHOST   IS   COME/'   ETC. 


[SEVENTH  EDITION] 


NEW  YORK 

The  Salvation  Army  Printing  and  Publishing  House 
122  Went  14th  Street 

1918 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

PREFACE                ....  V 

I.       DEATH    OF   THE    "OLD    MAN"         .  1 

ii.     HOLINESS:    WHAT    IT    is    NOT 

AND    WHAT    IT    IS           .            .  9 

III.       HOLINESS :    HOW   TO   GET   IT         .  17 

IV.       HINDRANCES    TO    HOLINESS           .  29 

V.      THE   OUTCOME  OF  A  CLEAN  HEART  37 

VI.       HOW    TO    KEEP   A    CLEAN    HEART  45 
VII.      HOLINESS     BEFORE     THE     FLOOD; 

OR,  DO  YOU   WALK  WITH  GOD?  53 

VIII.      ST.   PAUL  A  PATTERN             .            .  60 

DC.       TESTIFY    TO    THE    BLESSING          .  71 

X.       KNOWING   JESUS         ...  77 

XI.       FREEDOM   FROM   SIN     .  84 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

XII.       WRESTLERS    WITH    GOD         .           .  89 

XIII.       UNION     WITH    JESUS           .           .  94 

XIV.       IN   GOD'S   SCHOOL        .           .            .  106 

XV.        HOLINESS   AND  SELF-DENIAL        .  Ill 

XVI.       SPIRITUAL    POWER       .           .            .  119 

XVII.      JESUS — THE  WORKING  MAN        .  123 

XVIII.       THE    LEGACY   OF    HOLINESS           .  128 

XIX.       THANKSGIVING             .           .           .  132 

XX.       DON'T     FLINCH  .  .  .139 

XXI.       FAITH  IS   WHAT  YOU  WANT        .  144 

XXII.       PRACTICAL      LESSONS       OF      THE 

RESURRECTION          .           .            .  147 

XXIII.       EVIL-SPEAKING      .                   .            .  152 

XXIV.        HOW   TO   STUDY   THE    BIBLE           .  158 
XXV.       HOW      TO      PREPARE      FOR      THE 

MEETING          .  .  .  .164 

XXVI.       A    WORD    TO    YOU    WHO    WOULD 

BE    USEFUL     ....  170 

XXVII.       FOOLS    FOR   CHRIST'S    SAKE           ,  177 


PREFACE 


THIS  BOOK  is  a  welcome  successor  to  the 
writer's  famous  volume  on  the  same  sub- 
ject, entitled  "Helps  to  Holiness."  The  aim 
ef  both  is  intensely  practical.  The  former 
has  won  for  itself  a  permanent  place  in  the 
literature  of  this  great  subject,  and  I  have 
little  doubt  but  that  the  present  work  will 
prove  equally  useful  to  the  plain  people  for 
whom  it  is  written — pilgrims,  soldiers  of 
Christ,  who  are  seeking  how  they  may  order 


VI  PREFACE. 

their  lives  and  train  their  hearts  in  holiness 
and  righteousness  before  Him. 

I  have  said  that  the  aim  of  these  papers  is 
a  practical  one.  Nothing  would,  I  am  con- 
vinced, be  more  unsatisfactory  to  the  author, 
a  gifted  officer  of  The  Salvation  Army, 
than  that  the  perusal  of  what  he  has  written 
here  should  result  merely  in  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  theory  of  salvation,  or  even 
in  increased  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God. 
He  has  aimed  at  something  more  than  this 
— to  help  men  and  women  to  enjoy  that 
salvation,  and  to  enjoy  it  now,  and  to  lead 
every  reader  to  do  that  will  and  to  do  it 
all  the  time. 

The  glorious  experience  here  described 
and  -enforced  is  the  true  secret  of  a  life  of 


PREFACE.  VII 

happiness  and  usefulness  on  earth  as  it  is 
the  highest  preparation  for  the  life  and 
service  of  Heaven.  That  experience  is  for 
you. 

BRAMWELL  BOOTH. 


INTERNATIONAL  HEADQUARTERS, 

LONDON. 
July  8th,  /poo. 


HEART    TALKS 


ON 


HOLINESS 


DEATH   OF  THE     OLD   MAN. 

The  Son  of  God  came  into  this  world,  and 
lived,  and  toiled,  and  taught,  and  suffered, 
and  died,  and  rose  again  in  order  to  accom- 
plish a  two-fold  purpose.  The  Apostle  John 
explains  this  two-fold  work.  In  1  John  3 : 
5,  speaking  of  Jesus,  he  says,  "Ye  know  that 
He  was  manifested  to  take  away  our  sins." 
This  is  His  justification,  and  regeneration, 
which  are  done  for  us  and  in  us.  In  verse 
eight  he  adds,  "For  this  purpose  the  Son  of 
God  was  manifested  to  destroy  the  works 


2  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

of  the  devil."  That  is  entire  sanctification, 
which  is  a  work  done  in  us.  Now,  upon  an 
examination  of  experience  and  Scripture,  we 
find  this  is  exactly  what  man  needs  to  have 
done  for  him. 

First,  he  needs  to  get  rid  of  his  own  sins, 
and  have  a  new  principle  of  life  planted  in 
him.  "All  men  have  sinned  and  come  short 
of  the  glory  of  God,"  and  when  any  man 
comes  to  God,  he  comes  burdened  with  a 
sense  of  his  own  wrong-doings  and  tempers. 
His  sins  condemn  him ;  but,  thank  God, 
Jesus  came  to  take  away  our  sins.  When  a 
man  comes  with  a  penitent  heart,  acknowl- 
edging himself  a  sinner,  and  puts  his  trust 
in  Jesus,  he  will  find  himself  suddenly  freed 
from  his  sins.  The  sense  of  guilt  will 
vanish.  The  power  of  evil  will  be  broken. 
The  burden  will  roll  away.  Peace  will  fill 
his  heart.  He  will  see  that  his  sins  were  laid 
on  another,  even  on  Jesus,  and  he  will  realize 
that  "with  His  stripes  we  are  healed."  This 
is  c.  result  of  that  free  pardon,  and  that  free 
justification  for  all  past  offenses,  which  God 
gives  to  every  one  who  surrenders  himself 
heartily  to  and  trusts  in  Jesus.  At  the  same 
time  God  plants  in  the  man's  heart  a  new 
life.  The  man  is  born  of  God,  and  receives 
what  Paul  calls  the  washing  of  regeneration, 
which  washes  away  all  the  man's  guilt,  and 
all  the  sin  for  which  he  is  responsible.  At 
this  time,  too,  there  will  be  planted  in  the 
man's  heart  love,  joy,  peace,  and  the  various 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  and  if  his  experience  is 
very  marked,  as  such  experiences  frequently 


DEATH   OF  THE  "OLD   MAN."  3 

are,  he  will  probably  think  there  is  nothing 
more  to  be  done.  But  if  he  walks  in 
"humbleness  of  mind"  (which,  by  the  way,  is 
a  much-neglected  fruit  of  the  Spirit),  if  he 
speaks  often  and  freely  with  those  who  love, 
the  Lord,  and  if  he  carefully  searches  the 
Word  of  God  and  "meditates  therein  day  and 
night,"  he  will  soon  find  that  sin's  disease 
is  deeper  and  more  deadly  than  he  thought, 
and  that  behind  and  below  his  own  sins  are 
the  "works  of  the  devil,"  that  must  also  be 
destroyed  before  the  work  of  grace  in  his 
soul  can  be  complete. 

He  will  find  a  big,  dark  something  in  him 
that  wants  to  get  mad  when  things  are 
against  him ;  something  that  will  not  be 
patient ;  something  that  is  touchy  and  sen- 
sitive ;  something  that  wants  to  grumble 
and  find  fault ;  something  that  is  proud 
and  shuns  the  shame  of  the  Cross;  some- 
thing that  sometimes  suggests  hard 
thoughts  against  God ;  something  that  is 
self-willed  and  ugly  and  sinful.  He  hates 
this  something  in  him  and  wants  to  get 
rid  of  it,  and  probably  condemns  himself  for 
it,  and  maybe  will  feel  that  he  is  a  greater 
sinner  now  than  he  ever  was  before  he 
was  converted.  But  he  is  not.  In  fact, 
he  is  not  a  sinner  at  all  so  long  as  he 
resists  this  something  in  himself.  Now, 
what  is  the  trouble  with  the  man?  What 
is  the  name  of  this  troublesome  something? 
Paul  calls  it  by  several  names.  In  the 
eighth  chapter  of  Romans  he  calls  it  "the 
carnal  mind,"  and  he  says  that  it  is  "enmity 


4  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

against  God,  for  it  is  not  subject  to  the 
law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be."  You 
cannot  fix  it  up.  You  cannot  whitewash  it 
over.  You  cannot  make  it  better  by  cul- 
ture or  growth,  or  by  any  effort  whatever. 
It  is  an  enemy  of  God,  and  cannot  be  any- 
thing else. 

In  the  seventh  chapter  he  calls  it  "the 
body  of  this  death,"  and  wonders  how  he 
can  get  deliverance  from  it.  In  Ephesians 
4 :  22,  and  in  Colossians  3 :  9,  he  calls  it 
the  "old  man."  In  Galatians  5 :  17,  he  calls 
it  "the  flesh."  James  calls  it  "superfluity 
of  naughtiness,"  which  is  also  well  rendered 
"the  remainder  of  iniquity."  (James  1 : 
21.) 

John  calls  it  "sin,"  as  distinct  from  "sins." 
and  the  "works  of  the  devil."  Ezekiel  calls 
it  a  "stony  heart"  (chapter  36:  26).  The 
theologians  call  it  "inbred  sin,"  "original  sin" 
and  "depravity."  Whatever  you  wish  to 
call  it,  it  is  something  evil  and  awful,  that 
remains  in  the  heart  after  a  man  has  been 
converted. 

Some  say  that  it  is  gotten  rid  of  at 
conversion,  but  I  never  saw  «any  people 
who  found  it  so,  and  Mr.  Wesley,  who  was 
a  much  wiser  man  that  I  am,  and  who  had 
a  far  wider  range  of  observation,  examined 
thousands  of  people  on  this  very  point, 
and  he  said  he  never  knew  of  one  who  got 
rid  of  this  troublesome  thing  at  conversion. 

Some  people  say  that  growing  in  grace 
is  the  remedy. 


DEATH    OF   THE   "OLD    MAN."  5 

Some  people  say  that  you  never  get  rid 
of  it  while  you  live.  It  will  remain  in  you 
and  war  against  you  till  you  die.  They  are 
not  altogether  prophets  of  despair,  for  they 
say  the  new  life  in  you  will  overcome  it 
and  keep  it  down,  but  that  you  will  have 
to  stand  on  guard  and  watch  it,  club  and 
repress  it,  as  you  would  a  maniac,  till  death 
relieves  you. 

The  Catholics  have  fixed  up  a  doctrine  of 
after-death  destruction  in  purgatory  for  this 
"old  man." 

Personally,  this  subject  once  gave  me 
great  concern.  These  warring  opinions 
perplexed  me,  while  the  "old  man"  made 
increasing  war  against  all  my  holy  desires 
and  purposes.  But  while  I  found  man's 
teaching  and  theories  were  perplexing, 
God's  teachings  were  plain  and  light  as  day. 

1.  God  doesn't  admit  that  we  get  rid  of 
this    at    conversion,    for    all    His    teachings 
and     exhortations     concerning     it     are     ad- 
dressed to  Christians.     And  those  who  hold 
this    doctrine    will    have    to    admit    one    of 
two    things — either    that    it    is    not    removed 
at   conversion,   or   that   a   great   number   of 
earnest    professors    who    claim    to    be    con- 
verted   have    never    been    converted    at    all. 
Personally,  I  cannot  admit  the  latter  for  an 
instant. 

2.  God    does,    by    the    mouth    of    Peter, 
exhort  us  to  grow  in  grace,  but  that  simply 
means  in  favor  with  God,  by  obedience  and 
faith,    ard    does    not    touch    the    subject    in 


6  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

hand.  Corn  may  grow  beautifully  and  de- 
light the  farmer,  but  all  its  growth  will 
not  rid  the  field  of  weeds,  and  the  farmer 
will  have  to  look  to  some  other  method  to 
get  rid  of  those  troublesome  things. 

3.  Neither  does  God  anywhere  teach  that 
this   thing   need   be   bothering   us   till   death, 
or  that  death  will  destroy  it. 

4.  Nor   do    I    find    any    warrant    in    the 
whole   Bible   for  purgatorial  fires  being  the 
deliverer  from  this  evil. 

5.  But   I   do  find   that   God  teaches  very 
plainly  how  we  are  to  get  rid  of  it.     Paul 
says,  "Put  off  the  old  man''   (Ephesians  4: 
22).     James   says,   "Lay   apart   all   filthiness 
and     superfluity    of    naughtiness."      (James 
1:    21).     John   says,   "The    Blood    of   Jesus 
Christ  His  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin," 
not  part  or  some  sin,  but  "all  sin." 

And  again,  John  says,  Jesus  "was  mani- 
fested to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil," 
and  God  says  through  Ezekiel,  "I  will  take 
away  the  stony  heart." 

All  these  passages  teach  that  we  are  to 
get  rid  of  something  that  bothers  or  hinders 
our  spiritual  life,  and  show  plainly  that  this 
work  is  not  to  be  a  slow,  evolutionary 
process,  but  an  instantaneous  work, 
wrought  in  the  heart  of  the  humble  believer 
by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Blessed  be  God!  And  the  Bible  further 
teaches  that  the  one  thing  needful  on  our 
part  to  secure  this  operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  an  obedient  faith  "that  laughs 


DEATH    OF    THE    "OLD    MAN."  ft 

at    impossibilities,    and    cries,    'It    shall    be 
done.' " 

If  this  Bible  teaching  is  true,  then  it  is 
a  matter  that  can  be  proven  by  experience. 
If  one  man  proves  it  to  be  so,  that  es- 
tablishes the  Bible  testimony  against  all  the 
doubters  in  the  world.  All  men  used  to  be- 
lieve that  the  world  was  flat.  Columbus  rose 
up  and  said  it  was  round,  and  he  proved  it 
against  them  all.  There  may  be  some 
ignorant  old  fogies  yet  who  believe  the 
world  is  flat,  but  they  can  prove  it  to  be 
round,  if  they  will  take  the  trouble,  and 
whether  they  prove  it  or  not,  their  purblind 
belief  does  not  change  the  fact. 

Just  so,  the  greater  part  of  mankind 
believes  that  the  "old  man''  is  destined  to 
live  to  the  end,  but  as  Paul  says,  "Their 
unbelief  does  not  make  the  faith  of  God  of 
none  effect,"  and  humble  men  and  women 
are  rising  up  every  day  to  declare  it  is 
possible,  and  that  all  men  can  prove  that 
he  can  be  destroyed,  if  they  will  meet  the 
conditions. 

Oh,  that  we  could  get  men  to  understand 
this !  Oh,  that  we  could  get  them  to  take 
counsel  with  faith  and  not  with  unbelief ! 
Oh,  that  we  could  get  them  to  see  what 
Jesus  really  came  to  do ! 

I  proved  this  fifteen  years  ago,  and  ever 
since  I  have  been  walking  in  a  day  that  has 
no  setting  sun,  and  everlasting  joy  and 
gladness  have  been  on  my  head  and  in  my 
heart.  Glory  be  to  God ! 


8  HEART    TALKS  ON    HOLINESS. 

It  is  no  little  salvation  that  Jesus  Christ 
came  to  work  out  for  us.  It  is  a  "great 
salvation,"  and  it  saves.  Hallelujah!  It  is 
not  a  pretense.  It  is  not  a  "make-believe." 
It  is  a  real  salvation  from  all  sin  and 
uncleanness ;  from  all  doubt  and  fear ;  from 
all  guile  and  hypocrisy;  from  all  malice 
and  wrath.  Bless  God ! 

When  I  begin  to  consider  it  and  write 
about  it,  I  want  to  fill  the  page  with  praises 
to  God.  The  hallelujahs  of  Heaven  begin 
to  ring  all  through  my  soul,  and  my  heart 
cries  out  with  those  four  mystical  beasts 
before  the  Throne,  "Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord 
God  Almighty,"  and  in  spirit  I  fall  down 
with  "the  four  and  twenty  elders,"  and 
worship  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever, 
who  has  taken  away  my  sins  and  destroyed 
the  works  of  the  devil  out  of  my  heart,  and 
come  to  dwell  in  me. 

Finally,  "Take  heed  lest  there  be  in  any 
of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief."  "And 
to  whom  sware  He  that  they  should  not 
enter  into  His  rest,  but  to  them  that 
believed  not?  So  we  see  that  they  could  not 
enter  in  because  of  unbelief.''  "But  we 
which  have  believed  do  enter  into  rest." 
(Heb.  3;  12,  18,  19,  and  4:3.) 


HOLINESS. 


II. 


HOLINESS  :     WHAT  IT  IS   NOT  AND  WHAT  IT  IS. 

1.  Holiness  is  not  necessarily  a  state  in 
which  there  is  perpetual  rapturous  joy. 
Isaiah  tells  us  that  Jesus  was  "a  man  of 
sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief,"  and 
Paul  tells  us  of  himself  that  he  had  con- 
tinual sorrow  and  great  heaviness  because 
of  the  rejection  of  Jesus  by  his  kinsmen 
after  the  flesh.  Joy  is  the  normal  state 
of  a  holy  man,  but  it  may  be  mingled  with 
sorrow  and  grief  and  perplexities  and 
heaviness  on  account  of  manifold  tempta- 
tions. The  low-water  mark,  however,  in 
the  experience  of  a  holy  person  is  one 
of  perfect  peace — the  high-water  mark  is 
up  in  the  third  heaven  somewhere;  how- 
ever, this  third-heaven  experience  is  not 
likely  to  be  coastantly  maintained.  Jesus  and 
the  disciples  had  to  come  down  off  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration  and  to  go  casting 
out  devils,  and  Paul  returned  from  the  third 


10  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

heaven  to  be  buffeted  of  Satan,  and  stoned 
and  imprisoned  of  men. 

2.  Holiness  is  not  a  state  of  freedom 
from  temptation.  This  is  a  world  of  trial, 
and  conflict  with  principalities  and  powers, 
darknesses  and  terrible  evils,  and  the  holy 
soul  who  is  in  the  fore-front  of  the  conflict 
may  expect  the  fiercest  assaults  of  the 
devil,  and  the  heaviest  and  most  perplexing 
and  prolonged  temptations.  Our  blessed 
Lord  was  tried  and  tempted  for  forty  days 
and  forty  nights  of  the  devil,  and  the 
servant  must  not  be  surprised  if  he  is  as 
his  Master. 

Paul  tells  us  that  Jesus  was  tempted  in 
all  points  as  we  are,  and  that  He  is  able 
to  succor  us  when  we  are  tempted.  It  is 
no  sin  to  be  tempted;  in  fact,  the  Apostle 
James  tells  us  to  rejoice  when  we  are  sub- 
jected to  all  manner,  of  temptations,  for  the 
resulting  trial  of  our  faith  will  produce  in 
us  strength  and  force  of  holy  character, 
so  that  we  shall  be  lacking  in  nothing. 
(James  1:  2-4.) 

3.  Holiness  is  not  a  state  of  freedom 
from  infirmities.  It  does  not  produce  a 
perfect  head,  but  rather  a  perfect  heart ! 
The  saints  have  always  been  compassed 
about  with  infirmities  that  have  proved  a 
source  of  great  trial,  but  when  patiently 
endured  for  His  dear  sake  have  also  proved 
a  source  of  great  blessing.  Paul  had  a  thorn 
in  the  flesh,  an  infirmity,  a  messenger  of 
Satan  to  buffet  him.  Possibly  it  was  weak 


HOLINESS.  11 

eyes,  for  he  was  once  stoned  and  dragged 
out  of  the  city  and  left  for  dead,  and  in 
writing  to  the  Galatians  he  tells  us  they 
would  have  plucked  out  their  eyes  and 
given  them  to  him  had  it  been  possible.  Or 
it  may  have  been  a  stammering  tongue, 
for  he  tells  us  he  was  accounted  rude  of 
speech.  Anyway,  it  was  an  infirmity  which 
he  longed  to  get  rid  of,  doubtless  feeling 
that  it  interfered  with  his  usefulness,  and 
three  times  he  prayed  to  the  Lord  for 
deliverance,  but  instead  of  getting  the 
prayed-for  deliverance,  the  Lord  said  to 
him,  "My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,  for 
My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness." 

Then  Paul  cried  out,  "Most  gladly,  there- 
fore, will  I  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities 
that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me. 
Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in 
reproaches,  in  necessities,  in  persecutions, 
in  distresses  for  Christ's  sake,  for  when  I 
am  weak,  then  am  I  strong." 

In  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  Paul  tells 
us  that  Jesus  was  "touched  with  the  feel- 
ings of  our  infirmities."  We  may  be  faulty 
in  memory,  in  judgment,  in  understanding, 
we  may  have  manifold  infirmities  of  body 
and  mind,  but  God  looks  upon  the  purity 
of  the  heart,  the  singleness  of  the  eye,  and 
the  loyalty  of  our  affection,  and  if  He  does 
not  find  us  faulty  there,  He  counts  us 
perfect  men.  It  is  not  in  the  mere  natural 
perfection  that  the  power  and  glory  of  God 
are  manifested,  but  rather  in  goodness  and 
purity  and  patience  and  love  and  meekness 


12  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

and  Ipngsuffering  shining  forth  through  in- 
firmities of  flesh  and  imperfections  of  mind. 

4.  Holiness  is  not  a  state  of  freedom  from 
affliction.  The  saints  of  all  ages  have  been 
chosen  "in  the  furnace  of  affliction."  Job 
and  Jeremiah  and  Daniel  and  Paul  and  the 
mighty  army  of  martyrs  have  and  shall  come 
up  through  great  tribulations.  It  is  not  God's 
purpose  to  take  us  to  Heaven  on  flowery 
beds  of  ease,  clothe  us  in  purple  and  fine 
linen,  and  keep  a  sugar  plum  in  our  mouths 
all  the  time;  that  would  not  develop  strength 
of  character,  nor  cultivate  simplicity  and 
purity  of  heart;  nor  in  that  case  could  we 
really  know  Jesus,  and  the  fellowship  of  His 
sufferings.  It  is  in  the  furnace  of  fire,  the 
lions'  den,  and  the  dungeon-cell  that  He  most 
freely  reveals  Himself  to  His  people. 

Other  things  being  equal,  the  holy  man  is 
less  liable  to  afflictions  than  the  sinner.  He 
does  not  run  into  the  same  excesses  that  the 
sinner  does,  he  is  free  from  the  pride,  the 
temper,  the  jealousies,  the  vaulting  ambitions 
and  selfishness  that  plunge  so  many  sinners 
into  terrible  afflictions  and  ruin,  and  yet  he 
must  not  presume  that  he  will  get  through 
the  world  without  heavy  trials,  sore  tempta- 
tions and  afflictions.  Job  was  a  perfect 
man,  but  he  lost  all  his  property  and  his 
children,  and  in  a  day  was  made  a  childless 
pauper,  but  he  proved  his  perfection  by 
giving  God  glory,  and  when  his  wife  bade 
him  curse  God  and  die,  he  said  unto  her, 
"Thou  speakest  as  one  of  the  foolish  women 


HOLINESS.  13 

speaketh ;  what,  shall  we  receive  good  at 
the  hands  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive 
evil?"  And  when  his  three  friends  were 
undermining  his  faith,  he  looked  up  from 
off  his  ash  heap,  and  out  of  his  awful 
sorrow  and  desolation,  and  fierce  pain, 
cried  out,  ''Though  He  slay  me  yet  will  I 
trust  Him." 

Joseph  is  one  of  the  few  men  in  the  Bible 
against  whom  nothing  is  recorded,  but  like 
Daniel,  his  very  holiness  and  righteousness 
led  to  the  terrible  trials  he  endured  in 
Egypt.  And  so  it  may  be,  and  is,  with  the 
saints  to-day.  But  while  we  may  be  afflicted, 
yet  we  can  comfort  ourselves  with  David's 
assurance,  "Many  are  the  afflictions  of  the 
righteous,  yet  the  Lord  delivereth  him  out 
of  them  all."  A  friend  of  mine  said  he  would 
rather  have  a  thousand  afflictions  and  be 
delivered  out  of  them  all,  than  have  half 
a  dozen  and  get  stuck  in  the  midst  of  them. 

5.  Holiness  is  not  a  state  in  which  there 
is  no  further  development.  When  the  heart 
is  purified  it  develops  more  rapidly  than 
ever  before.  Spiritual  development  comes 
through  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  heart,  and  the  holy  soul  is  in  a  con- 
dition to  receive  such  revelations  constantly, 
and  since  the  finite  can  never  exhaust  the 
infinite,  these  revelations  will  continue  for 
ever  and  prove  an  increasing  and  never- 
ending  source  of  development.  It  would  be 
as  wise  to  say  that  a  child  afflicted  with 
rickets  would  grow  no  more  when  its  blood 


14  HEART    TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

was  purified;  or  that  corn  would  grow  no 

more    when    the    weeds    were    destroyed  as 

to   say   that   a   soul   will   cease   to  grow  in 
grace  when  it  is  made  holy. 

6.  Holiness  is  not  a  state  from  which  we 
cannot  fall.  Paul  tells  us  that  we  stand 
by  faith  (Romans  11:  16-22),  and  he  says, 
"Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take 
heed  lest  he  fall."  (1  Cor.  10:  12.)  It  is  an 
unscriptural  and  dangerous  doctrine  that 
there  is  any  state  of  grace  in  this  world 
from  which  we  cannot  fall.  Probation  does 
not  end  the  moment  we  believe  on  Jesus, 
but  rather  the  moment  we  quit  the  body. 
It  is  only  those  who  endure  to  the  end 
who  shall  be  saved.  While  here  we  are  in 
the  enemy's  country,  and  must  watch  and 
pray  and  daily  examine  ourselves,  and  keep 
ourselves  in  the  love  of  God  lest  we  fall 
from  His  grace,  and  make  shipwreck  of  our 
faith.  But  while  we  may  fall,  thank  God, 
it  is  a  state  from  which  we  need  not  fall ; 
in  fact,  it  is  a  state  which  Paul  calls,  "this 
grace  wherein  we  stand."  Some  have  asked 
the  question:  "How  can  a  holy  soul  be 
tempted,  or  how  can  it  fall?"  I  will  ask 
the  question,  How  could  the  angels  fall? 
And  how  could  Adam,  just  fresh  from  the 
hands  of  His  Maker  in  whose  image  he  was 
made,  fall?  And  I  will  ask  the  more  start- 
ling question  still,  How  could  Jesus,  the 
blessed  incarnate  God  Himself,  be  tempted? 
We  have  our  five  senses  and  various  bodily 
appetites,  none  of  which  are  in  themselves 


HOLINESS.  15 

sinful,  but  each  of  which  may  become  an 
avenue  by  which  the  holy  soul  may  be 
solicited  to  evil,  and  each  of  which  must 
be  regulated  by  the  Word  of  God  and  domi- 
nated by  the  love  of  Jesus,  if  we  wish  ta 
keep  a  holy  heart,  "and  stand  perfect  and 
complete  in  the  will  of  God." 

Finally,  holiness  is  a  state  of  conformity 
to  the  divine  nature.  God  is  love,  and  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  a  holy  man  can  be  said 
to  be  love.  He  is  like  God,  not  in  God's 
natural  perfection  of  power  and  wisdom 
and  knowledge  and  omnipresence,  but  in 
patience,  humility,  self-control,  purity  of 
heart  and  love.  As  the  drop  out  of  the 
ocean  is  like  the  ocean,  not  in  its  bigness, 
but  in  its  essence,  so  is  the  holy  soul  like 
'God.  As  the  branch  is  like  the  vine,  not 
in  its  self-sufficiency,  but  in  its  nature,  its 
sap,  its  fruitfulness,  its  beauty,  so  is  he 
that  is  holy  like  God. 

This  unspeakable  blessing  is  provided  for 
us  by  our  compassionate  Heavenly  Father 
through  the  shed  Blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  is  received  through  a  complete 
renunciation  of  all  sin,  an  uttermost  con- 
secration to  all  the  known  will  of  God,  im- 
portunate prayer,  and  child-like  faith.  Twen- 
ty-nine years  ago  I  obtained  this  crowning 
blessing  of  the  Gospel  through  the  con- 
scious incoming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  when 
I  believed,  after  weeks  of  earnest  seeking, 
and,  bless  God !  still  He  abides  with  me, 
and  my  peace  and  joy  increase  and  abound. 
Many  have  been  my  afflictions,  and  fierce 


16  HEART    TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

and  perplexing  and  prolonged  have  been 
my  temptations,  but  with  a  dare-devil  fakh 
I  have  pressed  on,  claiming  victory  through 
the  Blood,  testifying  definitely  to  what  I 
claimed  by  faith,  and  proving  day  by  day 
this  grace  to  be  sufficient  while  the  path 
shines  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 
Glory  be  to  God  forever! 


How  may  we  know  when  we  are  backslidden  in 
heart? 

Answer:  (1.)  When  we  are  filled  with  our 
own  ways  instead  of  God's  ways.  For  God  says: 
"The  backslider  In  heart  shall  be  filled  with  his 
own  ways."  (Prov.  14:  14.)  "Therefore  shall 
they  be  filled  with  their  own  devices."  (Prov. 
1:  Si.) 

(2.)  When  our  hearts  condemn  us.  "For  if 
our  heart  condemn  us,  God  is  greater  than  our 
heart  and  knoweth  all  things."  (1  John  3:  20.) 

(3.)  When  we  are  unwilling  to  obey  God.  "To 
whom  our  fathers  would  not  obey,  but  thrust 
Him  from  them,  and  in  their  hearts  turned  back 
again  into  Egypt."  (Acts  7  :  39.) 

Of  course  a  man  who  in  his  heart  turns  back 
to  the  world  and  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  even 
though  he  does  not  openly  do  so,  is  a  backslider 
in  heart. 

(4.)  When  we  wilfully  'and  habitually  give 
way  to  inward  sins  and  unholy  desires  and  tem- 
pers. 

Lack  of  joyful  emotions  in  seasons  of  great 
weariness  or  sickness,  or  under  temptation,  BO 
long  as  the  will  is  true  to  God,  is  not  a  sign  of 
a  backslidden  heart. 

"His  heart  is  fixed,  trusting  in  the  Lord."  (Pa. 
112:  7.) 


HOLINESS:  HOW  TO  GET  IT.  17 


III. 


HOLINESS:  HOW  TO  GET  IT. 

'Holiness  is  that  state  of  our  moral  and 
spiritual  nature  which  makes  us  like  Jesus 
in  His  moral  and  spiritual  nature.  It  does 
not  consist  in  perfection  of  intellect,  though 
the  experience  will  give  much  greater  clear- 
ness to  a  man's  intellect  and  simplify  and 
energize  his  mental  operations.  Nor  does 
it  necessarily  consist  in  perfection  of  con- 
duct, though  a  holy  man  seeks  with  all  his 
heart  to  make  his  outward  conduct  corre- 
spond to  his  inward  light  and  love.  But 
holiness  does  consist  in  complete  de- 
liverance from  the  sinful  nature,  and  in  the 
perfection  of  the  spiritual  graces  of  love, 
joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, truth,  meekness  and  self-control  or 
temperance. 

Righteousness  is  conformity  to  the  divine 
law,  but  holiness  is  conformity  to  the  divine 


18  HEART    TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

nature.     That    there    is  such  an  experience 
is  revealed  to  us  in  three  ways : 

1.  By  the  Scriptures.     The  Bible  tells  us 
that    God   "chastens  us   for   our  profit   that 
we    may    be    partakers    of    His    holiness." 
(Heb.  12:  10.)     And    He  has    "given    unto 
us    exceeding   great    and   precious    promises, 
that   by   these  ye   may   be   partakers   of  the 
divine    nature,    having    escaped   the    corrup- 
tion   that    is    in    the    world    through    lust." 
(2  Pet.  1:  4.)     In  the  Bible  God  makes  us 
very     precious     promises     of     holiness.     He 
gives   us   very  solemn  and   imperative  com- 
mands to  be  holy.     He  earnestly  exhorts  us 
and    graciously    encourages    us    to    be    holy, 
and  teaches  us  to  pray  for  holiness. 

2.  That   there    is    such    an    experience    is 
revealed  to  us  by  the  testimony  of  the  holy 
men  and  women  who  declare  that  God  has 
brought     them     into     this     glorious     expe- 
rience. 

3.  It  is  revealed  by  the  hunger  and  thirst 
of  our  own  regenerate  hearts;  for  if  these 
desires    to   be   like    God,   and   to   have   His 
love   and   holiness   so   fill   our  hearts  as  to 
cast  out  every  sinful  thought  and  desire  are 
begotten   in   us  by  the   Spirit  of   God,   then 
may  they  well  be  considered  as  proof  that 
holiness  is  possible.     For  the  Spirit  of  God 
will  not  beget  desires   in  the  hearts  of  His 
trusting  children  only  to  mock  them. 

Nearly  all  Christians  expect  to   be  made 
holy  either  before  they  die,  or  at  the  mo- 


HOLINESS:  HOW  TO  GET  IT.  19 

ment  of  death.  And  everybody  agrees  that 
we  must  be  holy  before  we  can  enter 
Heaven.  The  Catholics  hold  that  we  are 
made  holy  in  purgatory ;  that  the  depravity 
of  our  nature  is  cleansed  in  purgatorial 
fires,  and  through  its  pain  and  throes  we 
rise  to  the  vision  of  God. 

Some  other  Christians  maintain  that  we 
are  sanctified  at  the  moment  of  death  by 
some  mysterious  operation  of  the  Spirit  of 
God;  while  others  again  insist  that  we  grow 
into  the  experience.  But  we  of  The  Salva- 
tion Army  believe  that  it  is  the  gift  of  God. 
and  is  the  heritage  of  every  soul  that  is 
born  again,  an  inheritance  into  which  we 
can  enter  at  once  by  hearty  consecration 
and  childlike  faith. 

How,  then,  shall  this  holiness  be  ob- 
tained? Not  by  purgatorial  fires,  but  by 
Holy  Ghost  fire.  Not  by  works;  that  would 
make  man  his  own  Saviour  and  sanctifier. 
A  great  trick  of  the  devil  is  to  lead  people 
to  think  they  will  get  it  by  doing  something 
but  a  man  might  as  well  try  to  lift  himself 
over  the  fence  by  his  own  bootstraps  as  to 
transform  himself  into  the  divine  nature  by 
works.  He  can  get  it  no  more  by  works 
than  he  can  change  the  color  of  his  eyes 
by  works.  He  can  no  more  rid  himself  of 
an  inherited  temper,  or  get  lust  out  of  his 
heart,  or  hatred,  or  pride,  by  getting  bap- 
tized, by  going  to  church,  by  joining  The 
Army,  by  putting  on  the  uniform,  by  read- 
ing the  Bible,  by  doing  any  or  every 
religious  work  than  he  can  get  scrofula  out 


20  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

of  his  blood  by  doing  these  things,  or  add 
one  cubit  to  his  stature.  "It  is  not  of  works, 
lest  any  man  should  boast."  However,  a 
holy  man  is  abundant  in  good  works,  and  so 
is  one  who  is  truly  seeking  the  blessing. 
But  more  of  this  further  on. 

Not  by  growth.  Growth  adds  to  us,  but 
takes  nothing  from  us,  neither  does  it 
change  the  nature  and  disposition.  Holi- 
ness consists  in  having  something  taken 
from  us,  and  in  having  our  spiritual  nature 
made  over  into  the  image  of  Jesus.  In 
order  to  be  holy  we  must  have  every  un- 
clean desire  and  temper  and  passion  of  the 
soul  removed.  We  must  "put  off  the  old 
man,  which  is  corrupt  according  to  the 
deceitful  lusts,"  as  really  as  a  man  puts  off 
his  old  coat,  and  "put  on  the  new  man, 
which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness 
and  true  holiness,"  as  really  as  a  man  puts 
on  his  new  coat.  This  is  the  way  God  told 
Paul  to  tell  us  to  do  it.  It  would  be  non- 
sense to  talk  of  growing  out  of  an  old  coat 
into  a  new  one.  Put  off  the  old  coat,  put 
on  a  new  one !  Put  off  the  old  Adam,  put 
on  the  new  Adam ! 

It  is  not  by  death.  I  used  to  think  it  was, 
because  I  was  taught  so.  But  I  dreaded  the 
thought  of  being  killed  by  lightning,  or 
shot  by  a  stray  bullet.  I  did  not  want  to 
die  suddenly ;  I  wanted  time  to  get  ready. 
But,  glory  to  God !  I  learned  that  it  is  not 
by  death,  and  now  I  am  ready  to  meet  that 
old  enemy.  Hallelujah  forever! 


HOLINESS  :     HOW   TO   GET   IT.  21 

Well,  how  can  you  get  it?  From  Jesus, 
the  very  same  Jesus  who  saved  you  and 
spoke  peace  to  your  troubled  conscience, 
when  you  feared  you  were  going  to  sink  into 
hell.  The  very  same  Jesus  who  died  for 
you.  But  how?  By  asking.  By  giving 
yourself  freely  and  forever  to  Him,  to  be 
not  only  your  Saviour,  but  also  your  Lord 
and  Master;  to  do  and  suffer  all  His  blessed, 
wise,  tender  will.  By  believing  and  receiv- 
ing. 

If  you  knew  you  had  to  die  at  sunset  to- 
night, what  would  you  do?  You  would  give 
yourself  to  God.  If  you  had  any  grudges 
against  any  of  your  neighbors,  you  would 
give  them  up,  and  if  you  had  the  opportunity 
you  would  ask  them  to  forgive  you  for 
hating  them,  even  though  they  had  wronged 
you  or  some  of  your  friends.  You  wouki 
not  stop  to  think  how  they  would  treat  you. 
You  would  not  care.  You  would  feel  it  your 
business  to  get  right,  and  you  would  leave 
them  with  God.  If  you  had  robbed  any 
man,  you  would  try  to  restore  to  him  what 
was  his.  If  you  had  any  selfish  plans,  or 
ambitions,  they  would  sink  into  molehills 
before  the  mighty  mountains  of  eternity,  and 
you  would  give  them  up  quickly.  If  you 
had  been  unfaithful  in  the  discharge  of  any 
duty,  you  would  confess  it,  mourn  over  it, 
and  do  all  in  the  limited  time  left  you  to 
make  the  matter  right.  You  would  "prepare 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  make  his  paths 
straight."  Then  you  would  throw  up  your 
hands  in  helplessness,  and  ask  God  to  for- 


22  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

give  you  for  Jesus'  sake,  and  not  because 
there  was  any  merit  in  yourself.  And,  if 
you  really  trusted,  you  would  receive  for- 
giveness, and  be  at  peace.  You  would  feel 
Jesus  to  be  your  Saviour,  and  you  would 
rejoice  in  Him. 

Now  you  would  be  a  candidate  for  holi- 
ness. If  the  Holy  Spirit  should  now  reveal 
to  you  the  hidden  corruption  of  the  human 
heart,  and  show  you  that  it  was  out  of  this 
bad  soil  that  grew  the  bad  weeds  of  hatred 
and  pride,  selfish  ambitions  and  envy,  lies, 
adulteries,  murders,  drunkenness,  thefts,  and 
such  like,  you  would  cry  to  God  to  rid  you 
not  only  of  the  weeds,  but  to  entirely  change 
the  condition  of  your  heart  out  of  which 
such  unholy  things  grew.  And  there  would 
be  only  one  way  to  get  this  done,  and  that 
would  be  to  ask  God  to  do  it  for  Jesus'  sake ; 
trust  Him  to  do  it,  and  wait  with  full  ex- 
pectation till  He  did  do  it. 

And  he  would  do  it.  He  would  purge 
your  heart  of  all  unholy  conditions  by  the  bap- 
tism of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire,  as  surely 
as  fire  purges  gold  of  dross.  Glory  to  God ! 
This  is  just  what  He  wants  to  do.  He  wants 
all  His  children  to  be  like  His  well-beloved 
Son,  Jesus.  It  was  for  this  that  He  sent 
Jesus  into  the  world,  and  it  is  for  this  that  He 
baptizes  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire. 

Some  time  ago  a  lady  came  to  the  penitent- 
form  for  sanctification  in  one  of  my  meet- 
ings. After  I  had  questioned  her  and  ex- 
plained the  subject  as  fully  as  I  could  to  her 
and  we  had  prayed,  she  claimed  the  blessing 


HOLINESS:  HOW  TO  GET  IT.  23 

though  she  did  not  get  any  special  witness 
that  the  work  was  done.  But  soon  she  came 
again  to  one  of  my  meetings  and  testified; 
her  testimony  threw  light  on  the  difficulty 
with  many  people. 

She  said  that  for  several  day..s_  after,  she 
left  the  first  meeting  she  did  not  feel  'any" 
different,  but  while  about  her  housework  a 
thought  came  to  her  mind.  No  doubt  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Sanctifier  Himself,  sug- 
gested it  to  her,  that  her  sanctification  was 
a  part  of  her  Father's  will  for  her,  and  that 
He  offered  it  to  her  on  the  simple  condi- 
tions of  full  consecration  and  childlike  faith 
in  Him.  Then  it  dawned  upon  her  that  she 
had  met  these  conditions,  and  that  now  in- 
stead of  waiting  for  any  unusual  feelings 
she  must  just  act  as  though  it  were 
done. 

She  then  added  that  when  she  began  to 
count  it  done  and  to  act  as  though  it  were 
done,  then  she  began  to  realise  that  God  was 
doing  His  part.  She  began  to  feel  the  mighty 
workings  of  the  Spirit  in  her  heart. 

Now,  it  is  just  at  this  point  that  many 
people  fail.  They  wait  for  feeling,  and  hesi- 
tate and  doubt  and  wonder  and  go  with  their 
heads  down  and  repine,  and  maybe  throw 
away  their  confidence,  when  they  should 
recklessly  but  intelligently  give  themselves 
over  to  Jesus  to  be  His  forever,  to  do  His 
will  unto  death,  step  out  on  the  promise  with 
humility  and  adoring  faith  toward  God,  and 
with  a  shout  of  defiance  to  the  devil  and  all 
their  fears,  count  the  work  done. 


24  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

One  day  ten  lepers,  poor,  miserable  men 
with  the  flesh  rotting  off  their  bones,  met 
Jesus,  "and  they  lifted  up  their  voices  and 
said,  Jesus,  Master,  have  mercy  on  us.  And 
when  He  saw  them" — (bless  Him!) — how 
He  loved  them  and  yearned  over  them  in 
their  misery !  But  His  yearnings  over  their 
sick  bodies  were  feeble  compared  to  His 
mighty  yearnings  over  your  diseased  soul, 
my  brother,  my  sister.  "And  when  He  saw 
them,  He  said  unto  them,  Go,  shew  your- 
selves unto  the  priests."  It  was  a  law  among 
the  Jews  that  when  a  leper  was  healed,  he 
must  go  to  the  priest  and  get  a  certificate 
that  he  was  a  safe  person  to  be  at  large 
among  the  people,  much  as  a  small-pox 
patient  might  have  to  do  among  us.  But 
these  poor  fellows  might  have  objected  and 
said  to  Jesus,  "But  look  at  us !  We  are  not 
healed.  Our  leprosy  is  just  the  same.  We 
are  not  different  since  you  spoke  to  us.  We 
shall  be  fools  to  go  in  this  plight,  and  we 
shall  not  be  received  if  we  do  go.  Do  not 
mock  us.  Heal  us,  make  us  feel  different 
that  we  may  know  we  are  healed,  then  we 
will  go." 

No,  no,  no,  these  poor  wretches  did  not 
talk  so;  they  did  not  stop  to  reason  with 
their  doubts  and  fears ;  they  did  not  stop 
to  examine  their  feelings,  or  to  compare 
themselves  with  the  healthy  folks  about  them. 
Jesus  had  spoken  the  word,  and  it  was  theirs 
to  trust  and  obey;  so  they  hobbled  off,  I 
imagine,  as  fast  as  they  could  go.  "And  it 
came  to  pass" — (something  always  comes  to 


HOLINESS:  HOW  TO  GET  IT.  25 

pass  when  people  trust  and  obey) — "And  it 
came  to  pass,  that  as  they  went  they  were 
cleansed."  Bless  God !  That  was  cleansing 
through  "the  obedience  of  faith,"  and  it  is 
written  for  our  encouragement  and  instruc- 
tion. 

Reader,  do  you  want  this  experience?  If 
you  have  it,  rejoice  and  praise  God  for  it. 
Don't  merely  keep  on  seeking  it,  else  you 
will  get  into  darkness,  but  go  to  thanking 
God  for  it,  and  testifying  of  it  to  others. 
But  if  you  have  it  not,  give  yourself  up  fully 
to  God  just  now,  ask  for  it,  believe  for  it, 
and  if  it  does  not  come  at  once,  patiently  and 
expectantly  wait  for  it.  Expect  it,  expect  it, 
expect  it !  "He  gives  His  people  an  expected 
end."  Remind  God  of  His  promises.  Don't 
give  Him  any  rest  till  He  comes  and  sancti- 
fies you.  Tell  Him  you  have  come  to  stay, 
and  that  you  will  not  let  Him  go  till  He 
blesses  you.  Nestle  down  on  His  promises 
close  to  the  loving  heart  of  Jesus  and  stay 
there  expecting  till  you  know  the  work  is 
done. 

If  the  devil  and  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief 
say:  "It  is  for  others,  but  not  for  you," 
you  say:  "I  am  all  the  Lord's;  get  behind 
me,  Satan,"  and  tell  Jesus  about  it. 

If  the  devil  says :  "You  don't  feel  any 
different,"  you  say:  "I  am  all  the  Lord's; 
get  behind  me,  Satan,"  and  tell  Jesus  about 
this  also.  If  the  devil  says:  "You  can't  keep 
it  if  you  get  it,"  you  say:  "I  am  all  the 
Lord's;  get  behind  me,  Satan,"  and  don't 
forget  to  tell  this  to  Jesus. 

c 


2G  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Act  out  your  faith  regardless  of  your 
feelings,  and  a  heaven  of  love  and  joy  and 
peace  and  patience  will  soon  fill  your  poor 
heart,  and  you  will  be  "lost  in  wonder,  love 
and  praise,"  only  don't  bother  yourself  about 
your  feelings.  Your  business  is  to  wait  on 
•God  for  orders  and  inspiration,  and  then  to 
trust  and  obey.  It  is  His  part  of  the  busi- 
ness to  shine  upon  you  and  cleanse  you,  and 
fill  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  make  your 
heart  bubble  over  with  joy.  Claim  the 
promise;  feed  on  the  word  of  God;  feast 
yourself  on  His  love  and  faithfulness  in 
Jesus;  wait  on  Him  in  believing,  expectant 
prayer,  and  you  shall  be  satisfied  as  with 
marrow  and  fatness,  and  you  shall  become 
strong  to  do  a  man's  work  for  God  and  souls. 
You  shall  rise  above  discouragements  and 
difficulties,  and  you  shall  chase  a  thousand 
of  your  enemies,  and  if  you  can  find  a  fellow 
•with  a  kindred  spirit  the  two  of  you  shall 
put  ten  thousand  to  flight. 

Glory  to  God!  Go  to  believing  just  now, 
and  you  shall  have  peace.  Continue  to  be- 
lieve, and  your  peace  shall  flow  like  a  river. 

Hold  on  this  way,  resisting  the  devil  stead- 
fast in  the  faith,  reminding  Jesus  of  His 
promises  and  encouraging  your  own  heart 
with  them,  and  I  declare  it  will  not  be  long 
(before  your  patient,  expectant  faith  receives 
a  great  reward.  God  will  say:  _  "It  is 
enough ;  he  has  come  to  stay ;  we  will  bless 
him,"  and,  calling  to  mind  His  ancient 
promise,  He  will  add :  "Open  the  windows 
of  Heaven  and  pour  him  out  a  blessing  that 


HOLINESS:  HOW  TO  GET  IT.  27 

there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive 
it."  (Malachi  3:  10.)  Then  down  into  your 
waiting,  trusting,  expecting  heart  will  come 
the  Comforter,  the  blessed  Holy  Ghost,  and 
up  from  the  deepest  centre  of  your  soul  will 
spring  the  artesian  well  of  living  waters  of 
holy  love  and  praise.  Then  the  meek  and 
lowly  Jesus  will  come  and  dwell  in  your  clean 
heart,  and  you  will  love  Him  more  than  a 
mother  loves  her  first-born  babe,  or  than  the 
bridegroom  loves  his  bride.  You  will  adore 
Him  and  worship  Him  and  pour  out  your 
heart's  treasures  upon  Him  and  loathe  your- 
self for  all  your  sins  that  crowned  Him  with 
thorns  and  nailed  Him  to  the  Cross,  and 
your  unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart  that 
kept  Him  from  you  so  long. 

Have  the  blessing  now.  Let  God  search 
you  and  show  you  all  your  heart.  Don't  be 
afraid.  Heartily  give  yourself  to  Him  and 
trust,  expect,  ask,  wait,  receive. 


Which  is  to  be  sought  first,  "to  be  conformed 
to  the  image  of  Christ,"  or  to  be  a  soul-winner ; 
in  other  words,  which  is  the  more  important,  to 
be  holy  or  to  save  souls? 

Answer :  To  be  holy  is  more  important, 
for  God's  first  command  to  every  man  Is  not  to 
save  souls,  but  to  be  holy.  "Not  every  one  that 


28  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

sayeth  unto  Me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  Into  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven ;  but  He  that  doeth  the  will 
of  My  Father  which  is  in  Heaven.  Many  will 
say  to  Me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  Thy  name?  and  in  Thy  name  cast 
out  devils?  and  in  Thy  name  done  many  won- 
drous works?  And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them, 
I  never  knew  you ;  depart  from  Me,  ye  that  work 
iniquity."  (Matt.  7  :  21-23.) 

What  does  God  care  for  our  works  if  our 
(hearts  are  impure  and  unholy  in  His  sight?  He 
will  take  the  souls  we  have  been  instrumental  in 
saving  to  Himself  and  send  us  to  Hell.  In  fact, 
God  makes  holines  a  prerequisite  to  effectual 
and  lasting  work  in  soul-saving.  "Create  in  me 
a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
•within  me.  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy  sal- 
Tation,  and  uphold  me  with  Thy  free  Spirit.  Then 
will  I  teach  transgressors  Thy  way,  and  sinners 
shall  be  converted  unto  Thee."  (Psalm  51:  10, 
12,  13.)  "And  I  will  sanctify  My  great  name, 
which  was  profaned  among  the  heathen,  which 
ye  have  profaned  In  the  midst  of  them ;  and  the 
heathen  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  saith 
the  Lord  God,  when  I  shall  be  sanctified  in  y»u 
before  their  eyes."  (Ezek.  36:  23.) 


HINDRANCES    TO     HOLINESS.  29 


IV. 


HINDRANCES    TO    HOLINESS. 

God  has  provided  a  salvation  for  us  that 
is  perfect  in  every  particular,  and  that  satis- 
fies both  the  heart  and  the  mind.  It  makes 
its  possessor  "more  than  conqueror"  over  the 
world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  and  enables 
him  to  do  the  will  of  God  on  earth  as  it  is 
done  in  Heaven.  It  is  altogether  worthy  of 
its  Author.  It  is  a  "great  salvation."  It  is 
not  a  mere  set  of  beliefs,  nor  a  poor,  pitiful 
little  profession,  but  a  full,  joyous,  super- 
abounding,  all-conquering  life.  Glory  to  God! 
This  is  the  more  abundant  life.  Jesus  said: 
"I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and 
that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly." 
(John  10:  10.)  Praise  the  Lord,  this  life  is 
mine,  and  has  been  for  twenty-nine  years. 

And  now,  for  the  sake  of  those  who  have 
not  obtained  this  crowning  blessing,  I  wish 
to  point  out  some  of  the  hindrances  to  its 
reception  and  the  reason  why  so  few  com- 
paratively have  it. 


30  HEART    TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

1.  Many  are  ignorant  of  it!     Vast  multi- 
tudes  of  professing   Christians  never  heard 
of  a   second  work  of  the   Holy    Spirit  that 
purifies  the  heart  and  perfects  it  in  love.     It 
is,  strange  to  say,  an  unpopular  theme,  and 
is    not    much    spoken    of    outside    Salvation 
Army  holiness  meetings,  and   so  God  could 
say  to-day,  as  He  did  of  old,  "My  people  are 
destroyed  for  lack  of  knowledge."     (Hos.  4: 
6.)     But  this  ignorance  is  due,  not  altogether 
to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  subject  little  spoken 
about,  but  also  because  so  few  people  go  to 
'God's  Word   for  their  standard  of  life  and 
experience.     It    is   all   written   out  there   so 
plain  that  a  fool  need  not  err ;  but  most  pro- 
fessors of  religion  prefer  to  take  their  stan- 
dard   from   the    people   around   them    rather 
than   from  God's  Book.     Paul  says  of  such 
folks :      "They,     measuring     themselves     by 
themselves,  are  not  wise."     (2  Cor.  10:  12.) 
And  they  never  will  be  wise  unless  they  cease 
looking  at  poor,  perishing  men,  and  look  to 
Jesus    only.      Wisdom    is    from    above,    and 
must  be  sought  from  God  Himself  and  from 
the   study  of  His  Word,  and  not   from  the 
conduct  of  the  people  about  us. 

2.  Unbelief.     Many  are  familiar  with  the 
Word  of  God,  but  they  have  not  an  appro- 
priating faith.  They  read  the  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises,  but  it  never  occurs  to 
them    that    on    the    fulfilment    of    the    con- 
ditions   they    can    have    and    will    have    the 
things  promised.     Paul  says  of  these  people : 
"The    word    preached    did    not    profit    them, 
not    being    mixed    with    faith    in    them    that 


HINDRANCES     TO    HOLINESS.  31 

heard  it."  (Heb.  4:  2.)  Instead  of  crying 
to  God  to  bring  their  experience  up  to  the 
standard  of  the  Bible,  they  explain  the  Bible 
down  to  the  level  of  their  experience,  and  so 
never  receive  the  glorious  revelation  of  Jesus 
to  their  hearts  and  the  fulness  of  grace 
therein  promised. 

3.  Some  seek  the  wrong  thing.  They  ex- 
pect the  blessing  of  full  salvation  to  bring 
deliverance  from  temptations,  infirmities, 
natural  consequences  of  broken  law  and  the 
like.  I  once  heard  an  educated  minister 
pray,  "Lord,  save  us  from  our  impurities  and 
infirmities."  My  heart  said  Amen  to  the  first 
part,  but  not  to  the  latter.  Full  salvation 
delivers  always  from  impurity,  but  not  al- 
ways from  infirmities  in  this  world.  God 
uses  our  infirmities  to  bless  us.  Paul  gloried 
in  his  infirmities,  because  through  them  the 
power  of  Christ  rested  upon  him  (2  Cor.  12: 
9,  10),  and  we  read  that  Jesus  was  "touched 
with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities."  (Heb. 
4.  15.) 

Infirmities  and  temptations  are  incorpor- 
ated by  our  Heavenly  Father  into  His  edu- 
cational and  disciplinary  plans  for  us,  and 
are  overruled  for  our  highest  good  and  widest 
usefulness,  and  we  need  not  expect  to  be 
entirely  free  from  them  while  we  are  in  the 
body.  If  we  were  free  from  them  we  could 
not  enter  into  "the  fellowship  of  the  suffer- 
ings" of  Jesus,  nor  sympathize  with  our 
brethren,  and  that  would  be  an  immeasurable 
loss  to  us.  It  is  because  Jesus  was  tempted 
in  all  points  like  as  we  are  and  was  touched 


32  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  that  He 
is  able  to  sympathize  with  and  succor  us 
when  we  are  tempted.  (Heb.  2:  18.)  And 
it  is  only  as  we  enter  into  the  common  temp- 
tations and  trials  and  are  afflicted  with  the 
common  infirmities  of  humanity,  that  we  can 
be  touched  with  tender  sympathy  for  and  be 
largely  used  in  blessing  humanity.  And  so 
we  should  not  seek  for  an  experience  that 
will  save  us  from  these  things,  but  rather 
should  do  as  we  are  told,  and  "count  it  all 
joy  when  we  fall  into  divers  temptations." 
(James  1:  2.) 

Nor  does  this  experience  of  full  salvation 
save  us  from  the  natural  consequences  of 
broken  laws.  A  man  may  be  enjoying  the 
fulness  of  God's  salvation,  but  if  he  ignor- 
antly  breaks  the  laws  of  finance  or  health, 
he  may  expect  to  go  into  bankruptcy  or  lose 
his  health  as  surely  as  the  vilest  sinner.  And 
this  does  not  argue  at  all  that  his  Heavenly 
Father  is  displeased  with  him  morally,  or 
that  he  has  lost  any  measure  of  his  salvation. 

Nor  does  this  experience  enable  us  to 
please  everybody  and  appear  perfect  to  all 
men.  Our  hearts  may  be  as  pure  as  the 
heart  of  an  archangel,  and  we  may  love  with 
a  perfect  love,  and  yet  our  conduct  may  be 
misjudged  and  we  be  accounted  by  others  as 
being  anything  but  fully  saved.  The  brethren 
of  Jesus  did  not  believe  on  Him  (John  7:  5), 
and  his  critics  called  Him  a  glutton  and  a 
wine-bibber,  and  His  servants  shall  hardly 
be  above  their  Master,  but  should  rejoice  to 
be  as  their  Master. 


HINDRANCES     TO     HOLINESS.  33 

There  are  two  reasons  for  this.  One  is 
that  we  "have  this  treasure  in  earthen  ves- 
sels." (2  Cor.  4:  7)— that  is,  the  love  of  God 
in  our  hearts  may  be  perfect  and  His  sal- 
vation complete,  but  because  of  our  natural 
infirmities  we  may  not  be  able  to  fully  ex- 
press in  our  conduct  the  holy  affections  and 
tender  sympathies  of  our  heart.  Just  as  clear 
water  in  a  blue  bottle  will  look  blue,  or  in  a 
yellow  bottle  will  look  yellow,  so  the  pure, 
crystal-like  salvation  of  God  in  our  hearts 
takes  on  the  color  of  our  earthen  vessel. 

The  other  reason  is,  that  just  as  when  you 
look  at  a  landscape  through  smoked  glasses 
everything  looks  smoky,  so  the  eyesight  of 
many  people  is  so  distorted  and  blurred  by 
sin,  by  prejudice,  by  unbelief,  that  even  if 
our  conduct  be  perfect,  they,  looking  at  us 
through  the  medium  of  their  own  sinfulness, 
will  criticize  us  as  they  criticized  our  Lord 
before  us.  This  being  so,  we  need  not  ex- 
pect the  experience  of  full  salvation  to  make 
us  appear  perfect  in  the  eyes  of  men,  but 
must  content  ourselves  with  having  a  con- 
science void  of  offense  toward  God  and  to- 
ward man,  and  in  having  His  assurance  that 
our  ways  please  Him. 

Others  are  seeking  a  sort  of  "third-heaven" 
experience,  similar  to  what  Paul  had,  in 
which  they  shall  see  visions,  hear  voices,  be 
visited  by  angels,  and  constantly  have  tumul- 
tuous and  rapturous  joy.  Like  Peter  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration,  they  say:  "Master, 
it  is  good  to  be  here,"  not  knowing  that 
Jesus  wants  to  lead  them  down  into  the  val- 


34  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

ley  to  cast  out  devils.  Far  be  it  from  me  to 
discourage  any  soul  from  seeking  any  ex- 
perience mentioned  in  the  Bible !  Has  not 
my  own  heart  almost  burst  with  fulness  of 
joy  and  love?  and  cannot  I,  in  the  Spirit,  say 
with  Paul:  "Have  not  I  seen  the  Lord?" 
Truly  the  revelation  Jesus  gave  me  of  Him- 
self is  unutterable,  but  I  got  this  revelation 
not  by  seeking  some  marvelous  experience, 
but  by  humbling  myself  to  walk  with  Him. 
to  wait  for  His  counsel,  to  do  His  will  and 
to  believe  what  He  said.  Then  He  came  to 
me  and  took  up  His  abode  in  my  heart.  He 
has  shown  me,  however,  that  although  I  am 
to  have  His  joy,  holiness  does  not  consist  so 
much  in  rapturous,  sublimated  experiences, 
as  in  lowly,  humble,  patient,  trustful  love. 

•But  while  some  people  put  the  experience 
up  among  the  clouds,  others  leave  it  down 
among  the  fogs,  and  so  fail  to  get  it.  They 
think  that  it  simply  consists  in  being  free 
from  condemnation,  forgetting  that  a  justi- 
fied man  is  not  condemned.  For  instance,  a 
man  has  been  condemned  about  the  use  of 
tobacco,  or  a  woman  about  the  feathers  in 
her  hat.  Each  feels  that  such  things  are  not 
consistent  with  a  Christian  life,  and,  after  a 
struggle  with  pride  and  habit,  yields  and 
casts  away  the  offending  thing.  Of  course 
there  is  now  no  condemnation,  and  that  soul 
feels  justified;  but  it  may  not  yet  be  sancti- 
fied, and  it  is  not,  unless  when  the  tobacco 
and  feathers  went  out  and  off,  the  Holy 
Ghost  came  in,  destroying  every  root  of 
bitterness  and  sin  out  of  the  heart.  Holiness 


HINDRANCES    TO    HOLINESS.  35 

is  a  thing  of  the  heart;  it  is  the  purging 
away  of  the  dross  of  the  soul;  it  is  the 
renewing  of  our  whole  nature  so  that  we 
are  made  "partakers  of  the  divine  nature." 
It  "makes  the  tree  good." 

My  little  eight-year-old  boy  had  the 
nature  of  holiness  revealed  to  him  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Some  time  ago  he  professed 
to  get  saved,  and  I  think  he  did  get  saved, 
though  he  is  not  so  saintly  as  I  feel  con- 
fident he  will  yet  be.  One  evening,  not  long 
since,  however,  he  said  to  his  mother : 
"Mamma,  I'm  tired  of  Hying  this  way."  His 
mamma,  of  course,  queried,  "Why,  darling, 
what's  the  matter  now?"  "I  want  to  be 
good  all  the  time,"  said  he.  "You  tell 
me  to  do  things,  and  I  go  and  do  them, 
but  I  feel  angry  inside.  I  want  to  be  good 
all  the  time."  The  next  morning,  as  soon 
as  he  awoke,  he  said :  "Mamma,  I  want 
you  to  put  that  text,  'Create  within  me  a 
clean  heart,  O  God,'  in  my  text-book." 
•And  then  when  he  prayed  he  pleaded  the 
prayer  of  the  Psalmist,  "Search  me  and 
know  my  heart,  try  me  and  know  my  ways, 
and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me." 

Now,  holiness  makes  one  good  all  the 
time;  not  only  in  conduct,  but  also  in 
character;  not  only  in  outward  act,  but 
also  in  inward  thought  and  wish  and  feeling 
and  those  who  are  content  with  anything 
below  this  will  miss  the  blessing. 

4.  Another  hindrance  is  the  failure  to 
rightly  "consider  the  Apostle  and  High 
Priest  of  our  profession,  Christ  Jesus,  who 


36  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

was  faithful,"  and  to  appropriate  the  grace 
He  offers  us. 

The  other  day  an  earnest  Christian 
woman  was  complaining  to  me  at  her  break- 
fast table  about  her  pride  and  her  temper, 
which  she  had  found  unconquerable.  I 
suggested  that  she  should  consider  Jesus, 
and  asked  her  how  she  could  be  proud  in 
the  presence  of  His  deep  humility,  and 
requested  her  to  imagine  Him,  the  King 
of  kings,  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory,  hum- 
bling Himself  and  meekly  carrying  His  Cross 
up  Calvary,  amid  the  mocking  crowd,  while 
she  walked  by  His  side  or  followed  His 
train  in  pride,  with  high  and  haughty  head. 
She  saw  the  point,  and  while  we  were  at 
family  prayers,  she  said  she  could  never 
.forget  that  lesson  in  humility.  If  people 
would  but  study  the  life  and  spirit  of  Jesus, 
and  gladly  let  His  mind  be  in  them,  the 
subject  of  holiness  would  be  greatly 
simplified. 

Holiness  is  not  some  lofty  experience, 
unattainable  except  to  those  who  can  leap 
to  the  stars,  but  it  is  rather  a  lowly  experi- 
ence, which  lowly  men  in  the  lowly  walks 
of  life  can  share  with  Jesus,  by  letting  His 
mind  be  in  them.  Bless  God  forever! 


OUTCOME  OF  A  CLEAN   HEART.  37 


V. 


THE    OUTCOME    OF    A     CLEAN     HEART. 

David  prayed :  "Create  within  me  a  clean 
heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me.  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of 
Thy  salvation,  and  uphold  me  with  Thy 
free  Spirit.  Then  will  I  teach  transgressors 
Thy  ways,  and  sinners  shall  be  converted 
unto  Thee."  He  recognized  that  the  blessing 
of  a  clean  heart  would  give  him  wisdom 
and  power  and  the  spirit  to  teach  sinners, 
and  to  so  teach  them  that  they  would  be 
converted.  It  is  the  same  truth  that  Jesus 
expressed  when  He  said,  "Cast  the  beam 
out  of  thine  own  eye,  then  shalt  thou  see 
clearly  to  cast  the  mote  out  of  thy  brother's 
eye."  The  beam  is  inbred  sin;  the  mote  is 
the  transgressions  that  result  from  inbred 
sin.  The  following  are  some  of  the  results 
of  a  clean  heart: 

1.  A  clean  heart  filled  with  the  Spirit 
makes  a  soul-winner  out  of  the  tnan  who 


38  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

receives  the  blessing.  It  was  so  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  disciples,  having 
their  hearts  purified  by  fire  and  filled  with 
the  Holy  Spirit,  won  3,000  souls  to  the  Lord 
in  one  meeting.  With  the  blessing  of  a 
clean  heart  comes  a  passion  of  love  for 
Jesus,  and  with  it  a  passionate  desire  for 
the  salvation  and  sanctification  of  men.  It 
makes  apostles,  prophets,  martyrs,  mission- 
aries, and  fiery-hearted  soul-winners.  It 
opens  wide  and  clear  the  channel  of  com- 
munion between  God  and  the  soul,  so  that 
His  power,  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
works  through  him  who  has  a  clean  heart, 
surely  convicting  and  graciously  converting 
and  sanctifying  souls. 

2.  The  blessing  results  in  a  constancy  of 
spirit,     The  soul  finds  its  perfect  balance  in 
•God.     Fickleness  of  feeling,  uncertainty  of 
temper,    and    waywardness    of    desire    are 
gone,  and  the  soul  is  buoyed  up  by  stead- 
fastness and  certainty.     It  no  longer  has  to 
be    braced    up    by    vows    and    pledges    and 
resolutions,    but    moves    forward    naturally, 
with  quietness  and  assurance. 

3.  There  is  perfect  peace.     The   warring 
element    within    is    cast    out,    the    fear    of 
backsliding  is  gone,  self  no  longer  struggles 
for    supremacy,    for   Jesus   has    become    all 
and  in  all,  and  that  word  in  Isaiah  is  ful- 
filled :    "Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace 
whose  mind  is  stayed  on  Thee,  because  he 
trusteth    in    Thee,"    and   the    soul    is    made 


OUTCOME   OF   A   CLEAN    HEART.  39 

possessor    of    "the    peace    of    God    which 
passeth  all  understanding." 

It  had  "peace  with  God" — that  is,  a 
cessation  of  rebellion  and  strife — when  con- 
verted, but  now  it  has  the  "peace  of  God," 
as  the  bay  has  the  fulness  of  the  sea. 
Anxiety  about  the  future,  and  worry  about 
the  present  and  past  go.  It  took  perfect 
faith  to  get  a  clean  heart,  and  perfect  faith 
destroys  fret  and  worry.  They  cannot  abide 
•in  the  same  heart.  Said  a  saint,  "I  cannot 
trust  and  worry  at  the  same  time."  John 
Wesley  said,  "I  would  as  soon  swear  as 
fret." 

4.  Joy  is  perfected.  There  may  be  sorrow 
and  heaviness  on  account  of  manifold 
temptations,  there  may  be  great  trials  and 
perplexities,  but  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  which 
is  his  strength,  like  a  great  gulf  stream, 
flows  and  throbs  through  the  heart  of  him 
who  is  sanctified  in  an  unbroken  current. 
God  becomes  his  joy.  David  knew  this 
when  he  said :  "Then  will  I  go  unto  God, 
my  exceeding  joy." 

Probably  not  all  who  have  the  blessing 
of  a  clean  heart  realize  this  full  joy,  but 
they  may,  if  they  will  take  time  to  commune 
with  God  and  appropriate  the  promises 
to  themselves.  Jesus  said :  "Ask,  and  ye 
shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full." 
And  again  Jesus  said :  "I  will  see  you  again, 
and  your  hearts  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy 
no  man  taketh  from  you." 


40  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

This  joy  could  not  be  beaten  out  of  Paul 
and  Silas  with  many  stripes,  but  bubbled 
up  and  overflowed  at  the  midnight  hour  in 
the  dark  dungeon,  when  their  feet  were  in 
the  stocks  and  their  backs  were  bruised  and 
torn.  It  turned  Madame  Guyon's  cell  into 
a  palace,  and  Bedford  Jail  into  an  ante- 
room of  Beulah  Land  and  Heaven,  from 
which  the  saintly  tinker  saw  the  Delectable 
Mountains  and  the  citizens  of  the  Celestial 
City.  Glory  to  God !  It  makes  a  death-bed 
"soft  as  downy  pillows  are." 

5.  Love  is  made  perfect.  To  be  born 
of  God  is  to  have  divine  love  planted  in  the 
heart.  "Like  begets  like,"  and  when  we  are 
born  of  God  we  are  made  partakers  of  His 
nature.  'And  "God  is  love."  But  this  love 
is  comparatively  feeble  in  the  new  convert, 
and  there  is  much  remaining  corruption  in 
the  heart  to  check  and  hinder,  if  not  to 
destroy  it;  but  when  the  heart  is  cleansed, 
all  conflicting  elements  are  destroyed  and 
cast  out,  and  the  heart  is  filled  with  patient, 
humble,  holy,  flaming  love.  Love  is  made 
perfect.  It  flames  upward  toward  God, 
and  spreads  abroad  to  all  men.  It  abide3 
in  the  heart,  not  necessarily  as  a  constantly 
overflowing  emotion,  but  always  as  an 
unfailing  principle  of  action,  which  may 
burst  into  emotion  at  any  time.  It  may 
suffer,  bein.p;  abused  and  ill-treated,  but  it 
"is  kind."  Others  may  be  promoted  and 
advanced  beyond  it,  but  "it  envieth  not." 
It  may  be  subjected  to  pressure  of  all  kinds, 
but  it  "vaunteth  not  itself."  It  is  not  rash 


OUTCOME   OF   A   CLEAN   HEART.  41 

It  may  prosper  but  it  "is  not  puffed  up." 
"Love  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,"  or, 
as  Mr.  Wesley  said,  "is  not  ill-bred." 

Love  "seeketh  not  her  own,  is  not  pro- 
voked, thinketh  no  evil,"  is  not  suspicious. 
Love  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  "rejoiceth 
in  the  truth."  An  evangelist  was  abused ; 
his  enemies  were  professing  Christians,  but 
they  backslid.  His  friends  rejoiced,  but  he 
grieved.  His  heart  was  full  of  love,  and  he 
could  not  rejoice  in  the  triumph  of  iniquity 
even  over  his  enemies.  "Love  beareth  all 
things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things, 
endureth  all  things.  Love  never  faileth." 
(1  Cor.  13:  4-8.) 

6.  The   Bible    becomes   a    new   book.      It 
becomes     self-interpreting.       God    is     in     it 
speaking  to  the  soul.     I  do  not  mean  by  this 
that  all  the  types  and  prophecies  are  made 
plain  to  the  unlearned  man,  but  all  that  is 
necessary    to    salvation    he    finds    and    feeds 
upon    in    the    Bible.      He    now    understands 
the  word  of  Jesus :     "Man  shall  not  live  by 
bread   alone,   but   by   every   word   that   pro- 
ceedeth   out   of   the    mouth    of   God."     Like 
Job,  he  "esteems  it  more  than  his  necessary 
food,"  and  like  David,  "rejoices  in  it  more 
than  they  that   find  great  spoil."     Like   the 
blessed  man,  he  "meditates  therein  day  and 
night,"  that  he  may  observe  to  do  according 
to  all  that  is  written  therein,  that  his  profit- 
ing may  appear  to  all. 

7.  //     begets     the     shepherd     spirit,     and 
destroys  the  spirit   of   lordship   over   God's 


42  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

heritage.  If  Peter  was  the  first  Pope,  he 
was  not  like  many  that  have  followed,  for 
instead  of  lording  it  over  the  flock,  he 
wrote :  "The  elders  which  are  among  you 
I  exhort,  which  am  a  witness  to  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  and  also  a  partaker  of  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed :  Feed  the  flock 
of  God  which  is  among  you,  taking  the 
oversight  thereof,  not  by  constraint,  but 
willingly;  not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready 
mind;  neither  as  being  lords  over  God's 
heritage,  but  as  examples  to  the  flock." 
If  the  cleansed  man  is  a  superior,  it  makes 
him  patient  and  considerate ;  if  a  subordi- 
nate, willing  and  obedient.  It  is  the  fruit- 
ful root  of  courtesy,  of  pity,  of  compassion 
and  utterly  unselfish  devotion.  "The  Good 
Shepherd  giveth  His  life  for  the  sheep." 

8.  Temptation    is   quickly    recognized    as 
such,  and  is  easily  overcome  through  stead- 
fast faith  in  Jesus.     The  holy  man  takes  the 
shield  of  faith,  and  with  it  "quenches  all  the 
fiery  darts  of  the  enemy." 

9.  Divine  courage  possesses  the  heart.  The 
sanctified    man    sings    with    David,   "I  will 
not    fear    what    man     can    do    unto    me ; 
though    a   host   should   encamp   against   me, 
yet  will  I  not  fear."    And  with  Paul,  "I  can 
do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strength- 
eneth  me,  for  we  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  Him  that  loved  us." 

10.  There  is  a  keener  sense  than  ever  be- 
fore   of    the    weakness    of    the    flesh,    the 


OUTCOME  OF  A   CLEAN    HEART.  43 

absolute  inability  of  man  to  help  us,  and  of 
our  own  utter  dependence  on  God  for  all 
things.  The  pure  in  heart  sings  evermore, 
"The  Blood,  the  Blood  is  all  my  plea." 

11.  The  cleansed  man  makes  a  covenant 
with  his  eyes,  and  is  careful  which  way  and 
how  he  looks.  He  also  remembers  the  words 
of  Jesus :  "Take  heed  how  ye  hear,"  and 
again,  "Take  heed  what  ye  hear."  Likewise 
he  bridles  his  tongue,  and  seasons  his  words 
with  salt,  not  with  sugar;  salt  is  better  than 
sugar  for  seasoning,  but  it  is  only  for  sea- 
soning. He  remembers  that  "For  every  idle 
word  that  man  shall  speak,  they  shall  give 
account  in  the  Day  of  Judgment."  He  does 
not  despise  the  day  of  small  things,  and  he 
can  content  himself  with  mean  things.  Fin- 
ally he  realizes 

"That  the  common  deeds  of  .the  common  day 
Are  ringing  bells  in  the  far-away," 

and  he  lives  "as  seeing  Him  that  is  invisible," 
and  with  glad  humility  and  whole-hearted 
fidelity  discharges  his  duty  with  an  eye  single 
to  the  glory  of  God,  without  any  itching  de- 
sire for  the  honor  that  man  can  give,  or  other 
reward  than  the  "well  done"  of  the  Lord. 


Is  It  possible  for  a  man  to  have  the  blessing 
of  a  clean  heart  and  not  know  exactly  when  he 
obtained  It? 

Answer :  No.  If  you  have  a  clean  heart  you 
must  know  a  time  when  your  whole  heart  went 


44  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

over  to  Jesus  and  He  ao  poured  His  Spirit  into 
your  heart  that  from  that  time  you  had  victory 
over  the  carnal  mind.  A  man  can't  have  com- 
plete victory  over  the  carnal  mind  and  not  know 
it,  and  he  will  know  when  this  perfect  victory 
through  faith  in  his  'crucified  Lord  began. 

In  every  Instance  recorded  in  the  Bible  the 
blessing  came  instantaneously,  and  the  change 
was  so  marked  as  to  be  unmistakable.  Jacob 
wrestled  all  night  for  the  blessing  and  would  not 
let  God  go  till  He  blessed  him,  and  said  :  "As  a 
prince  hast  thou  power  with  God  and  with  men, 
and  hast  prevailed."  (Gen.  32:  24-30.) 

The  fiery  touch  that  isanctifled  Isaiah  was  also 
unmistakable.  He  cried  to  God  In  an  agouy  of 
conviction  for  'holiness  and  'then  relates  the  glori- 
ous experience  that  followed :  "Then  flew  one 
the  seraphims  urrto  me,  having  a  live  coal  in 
;his  hand,  and  he  laid  it  upon  my  mouth,  and 
said :  Lo,  this  hath  touched  thy  lips,  and  thine 
iniquity  is  taken  away  and  thy  sins  purged." 
(Isaiah  6:  6,  7.) 

All  the  New  Testament  instances  of  sanctifica- 
tlon,  as  recorded  in  Acts  2,  8,  10  and  19,  were 
so  marked  as  not  only  'to  convince  the  people 
who  received  the  blessing,  but  also  all  who  saw 
them,  that  they  had  received  the  blessing  of 
holiness. 


HOW   TO    KEEP   A   CLEAN    HEART.  45 


VI. 


HOW   TO    KEEP  A   CLEAN   HEART. 

It  is  possible  to  lose  the  blessing  of  a 
clean  heart,  but  thank  God,  it  is  also  glo- 
riously possible  to  keep  it.  How  to  do  this 
is  a  vital  question.  Two  or  three  years  ago, 
a  brother  going  to  a  foreign  field  arose  in 
one  of  my  meetings  and  said,  "I  got  the 
blessing  three  times,  but  lost  it  twice.  The 
third  time  I  got  it  the  Lord  taught  me  how 
to  keep  it  through  this  text,  'As  ye  have 
therefore  received  Christ  Jesus,  the  Lord, 
so  walk  ye  in  Him.'"  (Col.  2:  6.) 

That  is  one  of  the  simplest  and  completes! 
statements  of  how  to  keep  the  blessing  that 
can  be  given.  The  conditions  of  getting  it 
are  the  conditions  of  keeping  it. 

1.  To  keep  it  there  must  be  continued  joy- 
ful and  perfect  consecration.  We  have  put 
all  on  the  altar  to  get  it.  We  must  leave  all 
on  the  altar  to  keep  it.  "All  the  tithes"  must 
be  brought  into  God's  house,  and  we  must 
present  our  bodies  to  Him  as  "a  living  sacri- 


46  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

fice,"  recognizing  ourselves  as  no  longer  our 
own,  but  His,  by  the  purchase  of  His  Blood, 
and  ourselves  as  stewards  only  of  all  that  is 
ours — our  health  and  strength,  our  time  and 
talent,  our  money  and  influence,  our  body, 
mind  and  spirit,  all,  all  are  His,  to  be  used 
for  His  glory  as  fully  as  the  fondest  bride 
would  use  her  all  in  the  interest  of  her  hus- 
band. And  this  consecration  must  keep  pace 
with  increasing  light.  The  journey  of  life 
is  not  always  through  grassy  lawns  and 
flowery  gardens,  but  often  over  burning, 
shifting,  sandy  deserts,  rock)  steeps,  fetid 
swamps  and  dark  and  tangled  jungles,  as 
the  Lord  leads  the  soul  in  ways  it  has  not 
known;  and  at  such  times  self-interest  may 
cry  out  against  the  sacrifice.  But  if  the  con- 
secration be  perfect,  and  grounded  in  love, 
there  will  be  no  turning  back,  no  plunge  into 
seductive  and  easy  by-paths,  but  a  steady 
march  forward,  if  needs  be  to  Gethsemane's 
lonely  agony,  in  Pilate's  judgment-hall  of 
shame,  and  Golgotha's  dark  and  awful  hour. 
But,  thank  God,  it  will  not  be  alone,  for  He 
says,  "My  presence  shall  go  with  thee." 
Hallelujah! 

2.  To  keep  the  bkssing,  there  must  be 
steadfast,  childlike  faith.  It  took  faith  un- 
mixed with  doubt  to  grasp  the  blessing.  Un- 
belief was  banished.  Doubts  were  put  away. 
The  assurance  of  God's  love  in  Jesus  was 
heartily  believed.  His  ability  and  willingness 
to  save  now  to  the  uttermost  was  fully  ac- 
cepted, and  His  word  simply  trusted  when 


HOW   TO    KEEP  A   CLEAN   HEART.  47 

the  blessing  was  received;  and,  of  course, 
this  same  faith  must  be  maintained  in  order 
to  keep  it.  God  cannot  require  less  of  the 
sanctified  man  to  keep  the  blessing  than  He 
did  of  the  unsanctified  man  to  get  it.  Peter 
said,  "We  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith."  Notice,  it  is  "the  power  of 
God"  that  keeps  us,  but  it  is  faith  that  links 
us  on  to  the  power,  as  the  coupler  links  the 
car  on  to  the  locomotive.  Faith  is  the  coupler. 
Paul  said  of  himself,  "The  life  I  now  live 
in  the  flesh  I  live  by  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God."  And  again  he  tells  us  that  the  Jews 
were  cut  off  through  unbelief,  and  that  we 
stand  by  faith. 

We  may  suffer  prolonged  trials,  great  per- 
plexities, and  fierce  temptations — they  are  a 
part  of  the  discipline  of  life — but  we  must 

"Keep  on  believing,   Jesus  Is  near, 
Keep  on  believing,  there's  nothing  to  fear ; 
Keep  on  believing,  this  is  the  way. 
Faith  in  the  night  as  well  as  the  day." 

3.  To  keep  the  blessing  we  must  pray  to 
and  commune  much  with  the  Lord.  We  pray 
when  we  talk  to  God  and  ask  Him  for  things. 
We  commune  with  Him  when  we  are  still 
and  listen,  and  let  God  talk  to  us,  and  mold 
us,  and  show  us  His  love  and  His  will,  and 
teach  us  in  the  way  He  would  have  us  go. 
We  should  pray  often  and  not  be  in  too  great 
a  hurry,  but  take  time  to  be  holy,  take  time 
to  "taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good,"  and 
to  hear  what  He  will  say.  And  this  we 
should  do,  if  possible,  in  the  morning,  that 
we  may  be  strengthened  and  nourished  and 


48  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

gladdened  for  the  day.  Backsliding  usually 
begins  through  neglected,  or  hurried,  secret 
prayer. 

Someone  has  said,  "Stay  with  God  in 
prayer,  stay  till  He  melts  you,  and  then  stay 
when  you  are  melted  and  plead  with  God, 
and  He  will  answer,  and  you  will  get  changed 
and  transformed  and  renewed,  and  you  will 
do  execution." 

4.  To  keep  the  blessing  we  must  give  dili- 
gent attention  to  the  Bible.  The  soul  needs 
the  food  of  truth,  and  Jesus  said,  "Man  shall 
not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God." 
God  commanded  Joshua,  saying,  "This  book 
of  the  law  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth, 
but  thou  shalt  meditate  therein  day  and 
night."  What  for?  "That  thou  mayest  ob- 
serve to  do  according  to  all  that  is  written 
therein."  And  what  shall  follow?  "For  then 
thou  shalt  make  thy  way  prosperous,  and 
then  thou  shalt  have  good  success."  Then 
thou  shalt  keep  the  blessing.  David  said  of 
his  blessed  man,  "His  delight  is  in  the  law 
of  the  Lord,  and  in  His  law  doth  he  meditate 
day  and  night."  And  Paul  tells  us  that  the 
Scriptures  are  "profitable  for  doctrine,  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness,  that  the  man  of  God  may  be 
perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good 
works."  And  Peter  says,  "As  new-born 
babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  Word, 
that  ye  may  grow  thereby."  Some  professors 
are  smaller  ten  years  after  birth  than  when 
they  were  born,  because  they  have  not  fed 


HOW  TO    KEEP   A   CLEAN    HEART.  49 

on  God's  Word.  Mrs.  General  Booth  read 
the  Bible  through  several  times  before  she 
was  twelve  years  old,  and  grew  thereby,  until 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  she  became 
a  "mother  of  nations."  I  once  gave  a  talk 
on  the  use  of  the  Bible  to  my  soldiers,  and 
some  of  them  caught  the  inspiration  and  car- 
ried their  Bibles  in  their  pockets  after  that 
and  spent  all  the  spare  time  they  had  in 
reading  and  praying,  and  we  could  fairly  see 
them  grow,  until  they  became  powers  for 
God,  and  some  of  them  are  spiritual  giants 
to  this  day. 

5.  To  keep  the  blessing  we  must  confess 
it,  be  aggressive,  and  seek  to  get  others  into 
it.  "With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  confession 
is  made  unto  salvation.''  The  man  who  with- 
holds his  testimony  to  this  grace  will  lose  it. 
This  light  hid  under  a  bushel,  will  go  out. 
God  gives  it  to  us  that  we  may  put  it  on  a 
candlestick  and  lighten  all  that  are  in  the 
house,  in  the  corps,  in  the  community,  in  the 
nation.  Don't  limit  the  power  of  testimony 
by  unbelief.  A  torch  loses  no  light  and  heat 
by  lighting  a  thousand  other  torches.  Touch 
a  piece  of  steel  with  a  magnet,  and  it  in  turn 
becomes  a  magnet.  It  can  then  be  used  to 
turn  ten  thousand  other  pieces  into  magnets 
with  no  loss,  but  rather  with  increase  of 
power  to  itself.  But  hang  it  up  in  idleness, 
and  it  gradually  loses  its  power.  So  with  us, 
my  comrades.  Let  the  Holy  Ghost  touch  us 
with  cleansing  power  and  we  become  divine 
magnets,  and  in  touching  other  souls  we  will 


50  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

quicken  them  and  get  added  power  and 
clearness  of  experience  to  ourselves.  But 
let  us  withhold  our  testimony,  and  we  lose 
our  power  and,  like  Samson,  soon  find  our- 
selves "as  other  men."  Testify,  testify,  testify 
• — clearly,  definitely,  constantly,  courageously, 
humbly — if  you  would  keep  the  blessing. 
When  faith  is  weak  and  devils  all  around, 
definite  testimony  scatters  the  devils, 
strengthens  faith  and  stirs  up  and  brightens 
the  inward  witness.  Testify  to  the  Lord, 
tell  Him  you  have  the  blessing  and  thank 
Him  for  it.  Testify  to'  your  comrades. 
Testify  to  your  own  heart  and  to  the  devil. 
John  tells  us  that  the  white-robed  multitude 
in  Heaven  overcame  by  the  Blood  of  the 
Lamb  and  the  word  of  their  testimony.  So 
testify,  if  you  would  overcome  and  keep  the 
blessing. 

6.  To  keep  the  blessing  we  must  constantly 
live  in  the  spirit  of  self-denial.  By  yielding 
to  fleshly  desires,  to  selfish  ambitions,  to  the 
spirit  of  the  world,  we  may  lose  the  labor  of 
years  in  an  instant.  The  hard  hand  of  the 
old  enemy  is  ever  stretched  forth  to  snatch 
from  us  our  treasure.  We  must  watch  and 
pray,  and  keep  low  at  Jesus'  feet  in  pro- 
foundest  humility,  if  we  would  keep  it.  It  is 
all  summed  up  in  one  word,  "Walk  in  the 
spirit,"  "Walk  in  love." 

Finally,  there  must  be  no  resting  in  present 
attainments.  The  Lord  has  clearer  revela- 
tions of  Himself  for  us.  We  may  be  filled 
to  the  limit  of  our  capacity  to-day,  but  we 


HOW   TO    KEEP   A   CLEAN    HEART.  51 

should  ever  pray,  "O  Lord,  enlarge  the  ves- 
sel," and,  this  we  should  expect,  and,  like 
Paul,  "forgetting  the  things  which  are  be- 
hind, and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things 
which  are  before,"  we  should  "press  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus,"  ever  remembering  that 
He  "is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  that  we  ask  or  think" — not  ac- 
cording to  some  mysterious  power  to  which 
we  are  strangers,  but  "according  to  the 
power  that  worketh  in  us,"  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  that  converted  us  and  made  us 
His  "dear  children."  Hallelujah! 


Can  God  deliver  a  person  from  irritability  in- 
stantly, or  will  the  victory  come  through  the 
process  of  mortifying  your  members,  as  Paul  ad- 
vocated, this  being  a  slow  cure,  but  effective? 

Answer:  (1.)  A  man  may  be  delivered  in- 
stantly by  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

(2.)  The  mortification  Paul  spoke  of  was  not, 
as  our  questioner  says,  a  slow  cure,  it  was  In- 
stantaneous. Paul  always  advocated  an  instan- 
taneous putting  off  of  "the  old  man"  and  an  in- 
stantaneous putting  on  of  "the  new  man."  The 
tenses  of  the  Greek  verb  prove  this. 


52  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

(3.)  However,  a  man  will  never  be  so  saved 
that  he  will  not  have  to  "watch  and  pray  that  ye 
enter  not  Into  temptation."  Satan  planted  the 
seeds  of  sin  in  the  pure  heart  of  Adam,  and  un- 
less we  trust  the  cleansing  Blood  moment  by 
moment,  and  walk  in  the  Spirit,  he  will  plant 
seeds  of  sin  in  our  hearts.  We  are  workers  t»- 
gether  with  God  and  must  work  out  our  salva- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling,  knowing  that  it  ta 
God  that  works  in  us,  to  will  and  to  do  of  His 
good  pleasure.  (Phil.  2:  13,  14.) 

(4.)  All  stimulants,  tobacco,  strong  drink, 
even  tea  or  coffee,  if  they  affect  the  nerves,  all 
kinds  of  food  that  produce  dyspepsia,  and  all  ex- 
cesses that  drain  the  nervous  system  should  be 
avoided,  lest  a  certain  nervous  irritability  should 
lead  to  sinful  irritability.  God  can  teach  people 
the  difference.  "What,  know  ye  not  that  your 
body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  ye 
have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own?  For  ye 
are  bought  with  a  price ;  therefore  glorify  God  in 
your  body."  (1  Cor.  6:  19,  20.)  "If  any  man 
defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy ; 
for  the  temple  of  God  is  holy,  which  temple  ye 
fire."  (1  Cor.  3:  17.)  "Whether  therefore  ye 
oat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the 
glory  of  God."  (1  Cor.  10:  31.) 


HOLINESS   BEFORE   THE   FLOOD.  53 


VII. 


HOLINESS  BEFORE  THE  FLOOD  J  OR,  DO  YOU  WALK 
WITH   GOD? 

"And  all  the  days  of  Enoch  were  three  hun- 
dred sixty  and  five  years;  and  Enoch  walked 
with  God;  and  he  icas  not,  for  Qod  took  him." 

A  remarkable  biography !  Nowadays  men 
write  hundreds  of  pages  about  their  heroes, 
and  do  not  say  as  much  as  that.  But  there 
is  a  good  reason.  There  is  not  so  much 
as  that  to  say. 

Enoch  was  a  mighty  man,  with  a  wonder- 
ful life,  lived  under  very  unfavorable  cir- 
cumstances, and  I  have  profited  much  by 
meditating  upon  his  life,  and  what  I  think 
must  have  been  his  secret. 

We  are  prone  to  look  upon  past  ages  and 
distant  places  as  peculiarly  favorable  to  god- 
liness. I  remember  that  years  ago  I  thought 
if  I  could  go  to  London  and  listen  to  Mr. 
Spurgeon  each  week,  I  could  be  a  Christian, 
and  in  my  boyhood  I  wished  that  I  had 


54  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

lived  in  the  days  of  Jesus  and  heard  His 
wondrous  words  and  questioned  Him  about 
the  mysteries  of  godliness,  for  then  I  could 
certainly  have  been  His  true  follower. 
Usually  the  further  tack  we  go,  the  more 
godly  seems  the  age,  and  the  more  blessed 
seem  the  men. 

But  really  this  is  not  so,  and  especially  is 
it  not  so  of  Enoch's  age  and  place.  The  age 
was  most  ungodly,  and  men  had  very  little 
religious  light.  The  world  was  fast  hasten- 
ing to  that  dread  fulness  of  sin  and  unbelief 
which  should  cause  God  to  sweep  away  its 
people  by  the  deluge  and  leave  but  eight  per- 
sons in  it.  They  had  no  Bible.  They  "had  no 
law.  Men  had  not  yet  had  a  divine  revela- 
tion from  Heaven,  telling  them  that  they 
must  worship  God,  must  keep  the  Sabbath 
day,  must  honor  their  parents,  must  not  kill, 
commit  adultery,  steal,  lie,  or  covet.  Try  to 
imagine  an  age  and  place  with  no  such 
teaching  as  that !  Every  man  a  law  unto 
himself,  his  evil  passions  and  lusts  and  tem- 
pers having  no  restraint  put  upon  them,  and 
he  plunging  continually  deeper  and  deeper 
into  sin  and  corruption. 

Then  they  had  no  Gospel,  with  Jesus  re- 
vealed as  a  loving  Saviour;  they  had  only 
one  promise  of  hope  and  mercy,  and  that 
rather  vague — the  one  given  to  the  woman 
after  that  awful  fall  in  Eden,  the  promise  of 
the  Seed  that  sometime  should  come  to  bruise 
the  serpent's  head.  It  was  a  black  night, 
with  only  one  lone,  dim  star  shining  in  the 
darkness.  But  Enoch  held  on  to  that  promise 


HOLINESS   BEFORE  THE  FLOOD.  55 

and  in  its  light  and  hope  he  walked  with 
God  for  three  hundred  years. 

We  have  a  whole  Bible,  a  finished  revela- 
tion. We  have  the  holy,  just,  good  law  of 
God,  showing  us  what  we  ought  to  do  and 
what  we  ought  not  to  do;  we  have  the 
Gospel,  with  its  full  noonday  light,  showing 
us  how  to  keep  the  law,  how  to  get  life  and 
power  to  fulfil  the  will  of  God  on  earth  as 
the  angels  do  it  in  Heaven.  We  have  Jesus, 
crucified  before  our  eyes  for  our  sins,  dead, 
buried  and  raised  to  glorious  life  again  for 
our  justification,  and  ascended  on  high  to 
the  right  hand  of  God,  far  above  all  created 
things  and  all  opposing  powers  of  evil,  to 
intercede  for  us,  to  pour  out  the  Holy  Ghost 
upon  us  in  rich  measure,  to  live  in  us  through 
the  Spirit;  we  have  commandments,  precepts 
and  thousands  of  promises ;  instead  of  a  mid- 
night, with  one  lone,  dim  star  shining  fit- 
fully in  the  darkness,  we  have  a  mid-day, 
with  all  the  splendor  of  the  sun  in  his 
strength,  together  with  ten  thousand  re- 
flected lights  shining  upon  us;  and  yet  we, 
in  our  trembling,  pitiful,  shameful  unbelief, 
wonder  how  ever  Enoch  could  walk  with 
God. 

1.  I  imagine  that  Enoch  made  up  his  mind 
that  it  was  possible  to  walk  with  God ;  that 
is,  to  be  agreed  with  God,  to  be  of  the  same 
mind  and  heart  and  purpose  as  God.  Of 
course,  there  were  stupendous  difficulties  in 
the  way.  There  were  no  Salvation  Army  or 
churches  or  Sunday-schools;  there  were  no 
holiness  conventions,  no  days  with  God  and 


56  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

nights  of  prayer,  no  Bible,  no  War  Cry,  no 
religious  papers  and  libraries.  In  fact,  in- 
stead of  these  helps  to  walk  with  God,  he 
found  the  whole  community  against  him — 
yea,  the  whole  world,  for  the  Apostle  Jude 
tells  us  Enoch  had  to  prophesy  against  the 
ungodliness  he  found  around  him. 

Then,  not  only  did  Enoch  have  these  ex- 
traordinary difficulties  to  face,  but  he  had  all 
the  ordinary  difficulties  as  well.  He  got 
married  and  had  a  large  family  of  boys  and 
girls  to  care  for;  he  had  all  the  anxiety  of 
a  father  to  provide  for  his  family  and  to 
protect  them  from  the  influences  all  about 
them.  Then,  I  cannot  imagine  that  he  did 
not  have  the  ordinary  infirmities  and  the  sin- 
ful nature  of  other  men.  No  doubt  he  might 
have  said,  as  you  and  I  have  said,  that  his 
temperament  was  peculiar,  and  that  while 
others  with  a  happier  temperament  might 
be  able  to  walk  with  God,  yet  with  his 
peculiarly  crooked  and  difficult  make-up,  it 
was  quite  out  of  the  question  for  him  to 
hope  to  be  holy  and  walk  with  God.  Then, 
of  course,  he  had  the  devil  to  fight. 

2.  I   think  that    Enoch    not   only   believed 
in  the  possibility  of  walking  with  God,  but 
he   made  up   his  mind  that  he  would  walk 
with  God.     He  put  his  will  into  this  matter. 

3.  Not  only  did  Enoch  believe  in  the  pos- 
sibility of  walking  with  God,  and  determine 
that  as   for   him  he  would  walk  with   God, 
but  he  took  such  steps  as  were  necessary  to 
do  so.     He  separated  himself  in  spirit  from 


HOLINESS   BEFORE   THE   FLOOD.  57 

the  ungodly  people  ab'out  him,  and  he  raised 
his  voice  against  their  evil  ways,  and  be- 
came not  only  a  negatively  righteous  man, 
but  a  positively  holy  man. 

Enoch  had  his  reward.  It  paid  him  to 
walk  with  God.  He  loved  God  and  God 
loved  him,  and  their  affection  became  so 
intense  that  one  day  God's  love  overcame 
the  power  of  gravitation,  and  drew  Enoch 
from  earth  to  Heaven,  and  he  never  saw 
death. 

Now,  I  suppose  that  most  people,  in  read- 
ing the  story,  think  that  Enoch's  reward 
consisted  in  getting  to  Heaven  without 
dying.  Well,  this  was  certainly  a  most 
unusual  and  blessed  experience,  and  one  I 
suppose  that  men  have  wished  for  all 
through  the  ages.  There  is  something  about 
death  that  is  awful,  and  from  which  men 
shrink,  and  yet,  since  Jesus  has  died  and  gone 
down  into  the  grave  and  risen  again,  the 
terror  is  lost  to  the  Christian;  still,  it  is 
probable  that  if  allowed  to  choose,  most 
Christians  and  all  sinners  would  say,  "  Let  us 
go  to  heaven  as  Enoch  did."  But  I  cannot 
consider  this  Enoch's  chief  reward.  For  three 
hundred  years  God  was  his  Friend,  his  Coun- 
selor, his  Comforter,  his  constant  Companion. 
Oh,  what  fellowship  was  that !  What  an 
opportunity  to  gain  wisdom,  to  build  up  and 
round  out  and  ennoble  a  man's  character ! 
How  easy  to  be  good  and  do  good !  How 
life  must  have  almost  burst  with  fulness  ef 
gladness !  Walking  with  God  !  Talking  with 
God !  Communing  with  God !  Having  mutual 


58  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

sympathy  with  God — entering  into  a  union 
with  God  as  intimate  as  the  union  of  the 
bay  with  the  sea;  and  all  this  by  faith,  by 
simple  trust,  by  childlike  confidence.  This 
was  Enoch's  reward,  and  it  may  be  yours, 
my  brother,  my  sister,  if  you  will  meet  the 
conditions  as  Enoch  did. 


What  are  some  of  the  chief  differences  In  the 
experience  of  the  justified  and  the  wholly  sancti- 
fied? 

Answer :  The  difference  Is  one  of  degree 
rather  than  of  kind.  All  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
are  found  in  a  Justified  person  which  are  found 
in  a  sanctified  one,  but  are  not  brought  forth 
in  that  perfection  which  is  demanded  by  the 
law  of  God.  The  requirements  of  God  are  the 
same  for  the  justified  and  the  sanctified,  but  the 
sanctified,  having  perfect  faith  and  love  and 
being  freed  from  inbred  sin,  find  the  yoke  easy 
and  the  burden  light,  while  the  justified,  through 


HOLINESS   BEFORE   THE  FLOOD.  59 

internal  conflicts,  often  find  them  irksome:  A. 
little  tract  before  me  states  the  difference  most 
concisely : 

"(1.)  In  regeneration  sin  does  not  reign,  in 
eanctification  it  does  not  exist. 

"(2.)  In  regeneration  sin  is  suspended,  in 
sanctification  it  is  destroyed. 

"(3.)  In  regeneration  irregular  desires,  anger, 
pride,  unbelief  are  subdued;  in  sanctification 
they  are  removed. 

"(4.)  Regeneration  is  salvation  from  the  vol- 
untary commission  of  sin ;  sanctification  is  sal- 
vation from  the  inbeing  of  sin. 

"(5.)  Regeneration  is  the  old  man  bound. 
Sanctification  is  the  old  man  cast  out  and 
spoiled  of  his  goods. 

"(6.)  Regeneration  is  sanctification  begun. 
Entire  sanctification  is  the  work  completed." 

In  justification  people  seeiag  the  holiness  of 
God  often  want  more  time  te  get  ready  to  die. 
In  sanctification  perfect  love  has  cast  out  all 
fear. 


60  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 


VIII. 


ST.   PAUL  A   PATTERN. 

St.  Paul  tells  us  that  the  Lord  Jesus  made 
him  "a  pattern  to  them  which  should  here- 
after believe."  (1  Tim.  1:  16.)  This  fact 
makes  his  life  and  experience  exceptionally 
interesting  and  valuable  to  us.  And  it  is  an 
especial  mark  of  our  Heavenly  Father's  wis- 
dom and  love  that  He  has  given  us  such  a 
striking  example  in  every  particular  of  the 
saving  power  of  Jesus  as  we  have  in  St. 
Paul.  People  say  Jesus  was  divine,  and  so 
excuse  themselves  for  their  unlikeness  to 
Him,  but  Paul  was  human,  and  if  he  was 
like  Jesus,  so  may  we  be. 

Let  us  study  his  experience. 

1.  His  sufferings.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive any  form  of  suffering  to  which  St.  Paul 
was  not  subjected,  and  in  every  instance  the 
grace  of  Christ  was  all-sufficient.  Here  is  a 
catalogue  of  his  sufferings  recorded  by  him- 


ST.   PAUL  A  PATTERN.  61 

self :  "In  labors  more  abundant."  If  our 
own  General  exceeds  him  in  heavy  labors,  it 
is  only  because  of  the  improved  facilities  of 
later  ages  for  doing  more  in  the  same  space 
of  time.  "In  stripes  above  measure" — more 
than  the  combined  stripes  inflicted  on  all  the 
Christians  of  the  present  day.  "In  prisons 
more  frequent,"  "In  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews 
once  was  I  stoned."  I  was  stoned  once  with 
one  brick,  and  nearly  killed,  but  Paul  re- 
ceived many  stones,  and  was  dragged  out  of 
the  city  like  a  beast,  and  left  for  dead. 
"Thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck."  Commis- 
sioner McKie  suffered  shipwreck  once,  and 
escaped  immediately;  but,  "a  night  and  a  day 
I  have  been  in  the  deep,"  says  Paul.  "In 
journeyings  often,"  under  such  disagreeable 
circumstances  as  we  who  live  in  the  days  of 
palace  cars  and  ocean  steamers  can  scarcely 
imagine.  "In  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of 
robbers,  in  perils  of  mine  own  countrymen" 
— the  Jews,  who  hated  him  bitterly,  and 
sought  his  life  in  every  city.  "In  perils  by 
the  heathen" — whom  he  sought  to  save 
through  the  knowledge  of  Jesus,  but  who 
clung  to  their  idols.  "In  perils  in  the  city" — 
by  wild,  mad  mobs.  "In  perils  in  the  wilder- 
ness"— from  ferocious  beasts  and  yet  more 
ferocious  men.  "In  perils  in  the  sea" — from 
drowning  and  from  monsters  of  the  deep. 
"In  perils  among  false  brethren" — to  whom 
he  would  naturally  look  for  help  and  sym- 
pathy. "In  weariness  and  painfulness,  in 
watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fast- 
ings often,  in  cold  and  nakedness.  Besides 


62  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

those  things  that  are  without,  that  which 
comes  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the 
churches" — which  were  organized  from  Jewish 
and  heathen  converts,  and  were  bitterly  op- 
posed by  the  idolatrous  heathen  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  bigoted  Jews  on  the  other,  and 
which  must  have  been  far  more  difficult  to 
properly  organize,  train  and  manage,  than 
any  Salvation  Army  corps.  Nor  could  he 
look  forward  to  brighter  days,  when  circum- 
stances would  be  more  favorable,  and  life 
more  free  from  pain  and  care,  for  he  says, 
"The  Holy  Ghost  witnesseth  in  every  city, 
saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  wait  for 
me." 

2.  His  faith  in  God  and  love  for  man.  And 
yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  afflictions  and  physi- 
cal sufferings  and  bitter  persecutions,  he 
maintained  a  joyful  faith  in  God  and  a  ten- 
der, self-sacrificing  love  for  all  men,  and 
when  God  the  Holy  Ghost  testifies  there 
shall  be  no  "let  up"  to  his  stupendous  trials, 
he  cries  out,  "But  none  of  these  things  move 
me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  my- 
self; I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  re- 
proaches, in  necessities,  in  persecutions,  in 
distresses  for  Christ's  sake."  And  in  face 
of  all  these  things  he  asks,  "Who  shall  sep- 
arate us  from  the  love  of  Christ?  Shall 
tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or 
famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword?" 
And  though  he  adds,  "We  are  accounted  as 
sheep  for  the  slaughter,"  yet  "in  all  these 
things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through 
Him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded  that 


ST.   PAUL   A   PATTERN.  63 

neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  princi- 
palities, nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor 
any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  co  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord."  And  at  last,  almost  in 
sight  of  the  block  and  axe,  where  his  multi- 
tudinous sufferings  were  to  be  crowned  by 
a  martyr's  death,  he  exclaimed,  "I  have 
fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my 
course,  I  have  kept  the  faith."  And  as  his 
faith  in  his  Lord  was  not  in  the  least  hin- 
dered or  destroyed  by  his  sufferings,  so  also 
was  his  love  for  his  fellow  men  untouched 
by  them.  He  says  of  the  Jews,  who  were 
his  perpetual  and  bitter  enemies,  "I  say  the 
truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also 
bearing  me  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  that 
I  have  great  heaviness  and  continual  sorrow 
in  my  heart,  for  I  could  wish  myself  were 
accursed  from  Christ  for  my  kinsmen  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh  who  are  Israelites." 
This  is  perfect  love.  It  is  love  that  "suffer- 
eth  long,  and  is  kind."  It  is  love  like  that 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself.  Then  again,  in 
writing  to  his  corps  in  Corinth,  many  of 
whom  seemed  to  have  gone  wrong,  and  to 
have  made  many  unjust  and  contemptuous 
criticisms  of  Paul  himself,  he  says,  "I  seek 
not  yours,  but  you ;  and  I  will  very  gladly 
spend  and  be  spent  for  you ;  though  the 
more  abundantly  I  love  you,  the  less  I  be 
loved."  Many  floods  could  not  quench  his 
love  nor  drown  his  faith. 


64  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

3.  The  secret.  The  secret  of  Paul's  mar- 
velous endurance,  his  quenchless  faith  and 
burning  love  is  found  in  his  testimony,  "I 
was  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision." 
[(Acts  26:  19.) 

Away  back  in  the  days  when  he  was  a 
persecutor  and  was  scattering  the  little  flock 
of  Christ,  and  driving  them  to  death,  Jesus 
met  him — met  him  just  as  He  meets  men 
to-day,  showed  him  a  "strait  gate"  and  a 
"narrow  way,"  and  Paul  was  "not  disobe- 
dient to  the  heavenly  vision."  Obedience 
meant  social  ostracism,  banishment  from 
home  and  friends,  overturning  of  all  his 
plans  and  ambitions,  a  life  of  toil  and  shame 
and  suffering,  the  loss  of  all  things  and  the 
sacrifice  of  his  life,  and  yet  he  was  not  dis- 
obedient to  the  heavenly  vision.  And,  main- 
taining this  cbedient  spirit  to  the  end,  every- 
thing else  followed.  The  reason  why  so  few 
have  an  experience  like  Paul's  is  because  so 
few  count  the  cost  as  he  did,  and  obey  the 
heavenly  vision  Jesus  gives  them. 

Several  years  ago  a  bright  young  girl  of 
eighteen,  full  of  fun  and  love  of  society, 
was  induced  by  a  friend  to  enter  an  Army 
meeting  for  the  first  time.  No  sooner  had 
she  entered  than  the  faces  of  the  soldiers 
enchained  her  eyes,  and  their  testimonies 
went  to  her  heart.  She  sat  for  a  while,  and 
Jesus  came  to  her,  not  in  visible  presence, 
or  with  audible  voice,  but  in  a  spiritual 
vision.  She  left  the  meeting  convicted  of  sin. 
On  her  way  home  the  vision  spoke  with  her. 
"You  ought  to  have  got  saved  to-night." 


ST.   PAUL  A  PATTERN.  65 

"But  I  am  engaged  for  that  dance  next 
Wednesday  night."  "You  should  give  up 
the  dance."  "But  there  are  my  lovely  white 
dress  and  slippers.  I  will  get  saved  after 
the  dance."  "But  you  may  die  before 
Wednesday  night,  and  lose  your  lovely  dress 
and  the  dance  and  your  soul."  That  was 
sufficient  for  this  young  girl.  She  tore  the 
feathers  from  her  hat,  and  threw  them  into 
the  fire.  She  rushed  upstairs,  got  her  lovely 
white  dress,  cut  it  up  and  cast  it  into  the 
fire.  The  next  evening  she  went  to  the  meet- 
ing. At  last  a  sister,  probably  discerning  in 
her  face  the  hunger  of  her  heart,  went  to 
her  and  asked,  "Don't  you  want  to  get  saved 
to-night?"  "Of  course  I  do,"  replied  the 
girl;  "why  did  you  not  come  to  me  before?" 
and  immediately  she  rushed  to  the  penitent- 
form,  where,  in  obedience  to  the  heavenly 
vision,  she  found  Jesus  almighty  to  save. 
And  after  four  years  her  face  shines  with 
the  glory  of  her  Lord,  and  her  voice  rings 
with  triumph  as  she  testifies  to  the  cleansing 
power  of  His  Blood  and  the  sanctifying 
power  and  presence  of  His  Spirit.  She  was 
not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision. 

A  man — a  millionaire — came  into  a  meeting 
and  listened  to  an  Army  Captain,  and  the 
heavenly  vision  came  to  him,  and  he  saw  the 
Cross,  and  the  "strait  gate,"  and  the  "narrow 
way,"  and  like  the  rich  young  man  who 
came  to  Jesus,  he  went  away,  saying,  "If  it 
were  not  for  the  red  stripes  around  that  fel- 
low's collar  I  would  have  gone  forward." 
He  was  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision. 


66  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Sooner  or  later  the  heavenly  vision  comes 
to  all  men.  It  comes  in  the  whisperings  of 
conscience,  in  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit,  in 
the  calls  of  duty,  in  the  moments  of  regret 
for  an  evil  past,  in  moments  of  tenderness 
and  sorrow,  in  the  crises  of  life,  in  the  en- 
treaties of  God's  people,  in  afflictions  and 
losses,  in  the  thunders  of  the  law,  in  fearful 
ominous  threatenings  of  eternal  judgment, 
in  the  death  of  loved  ones,  in  crushed  hopes, 
disappointed  plans  and  thwarted  ambitions. 
In  all  these  things  Jesus  hides  Himself  as 
He  hid  Himself  in  the  burning  bush,  which 
Moses  saw  on  Horeb,  and  if  men  would  but 
turn  aside  and  heed  the  vision  as  Moses  did, 
a  voice  would  speak  and  cause  them  to  know 
the  Lord,  and  if  they  would  not  be  dis- 
obedient to  the  heavenly  vision  Jesus  would 
turn  them  back  from  the  pit,  and  satisfy 
every  questioning  of  their  minds  and  every 
longing  of  their  hearts.  God  so  satisfied 
the  heart  and  mind  of  Paul. 

Some  people  imagine  that  Paul  tells  his 
best  religious  experience  in  the  seventh 
chapter  of  Romans,  when  he  cries  out,  "Oh, 
wretched  man  that  I  am !  Who  shall  deliver 
me  from  the  body  of  this  death?"  but  the 
fact  is,  he  is  here  describing  his  condition 
under  the  law,  when,  as  a  convicted  sinner, 
the  law  showed  him  what  he  ought  to  do, 
but  brought  no  power  to  deliver  him  from 
his  guilty  past  and  the  corruptions  of  his 
own  heart.  But  in  the  eighth  chapter  he 
finds  the  secret  of  deliverance  from  the  con- 
demnation of  the  past  and  the  carnal  mind, 


ST.   PAUL  A   PATTERN.  67 

which  prevent  his  doing  the  will  of  God  on 
earth  as  the  angels  do  it  in  Heaven.  From 
that  point  he  rises  to  such  marvelous  testi- 
monies, as,  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ ; 
nevertheless  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me,  and  the  life  which  I  now  live, 
I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who 
loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me."  And 
through  a  consecration  in  which  he  counted 
all  things  loss  for  "Christ  and  a  faith  by 
which  he  reckoned  himself  "dead  indeed 
unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,"  he  entered  into  an  ex- 
perience in  which,  as  one  has  well  said,  he 
was  "free  from  a  repining  temper,  for  he 
had  learned  in  every  state  therewith  to  be 
content.  He  was  free  from  vanity,  pride, 
and  unsanctified  ambitions,  for  he  gloried 
only  in  the  Cross  of  Christ.  He  was  free 
from  every  feeling  of  resentment,  for  he 
was  ready  to  die  for  his  enemies.  He  was 
free  from  selfishness,  for  he  was  ready  to 
spend  and  be  spent  for  those  whose  love 
diminished  for  him  in  proportion  as  his 
love  abounded  for  them.  He  was  free 
from  covetousness,  for  he  counted  all  things 
but  dung  and  dross,  for  Christ.  He  was 
free  from  unbelief,  for  he  knew  in  whom 
he  had  trusted,  and  was  persuaded  that 
nothing  could  separate  him  from  the  love 
of  Christ.  He  was  free  from  the  fear  of 
man,  for  stripes,  imprisonment  and  martyr- 
dom had  no  terrors — being  ready  to  be 
offered  up.  He  was  free  from  the  love  of 
the  world,  having  a  desire  to  depart  and  to 


68  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

be  with  Christ.  The  absence  of  these  cor- 
ruptions implied  the  maturity  of  the  graces 
of  the  Holy  Spirit — the  fulness  of  love.  In- 
deed, it  was  that  love  which  constrained 
him,  which  cast  out  fear,  and  counteracted 
every  tendency  opposed  to  its  hallowing  in- 
fluence." 

What  a  great  salvation  was  this  that  Paul 
found  through  obeying  the  heavenly  vision ! 
It  is  ten  million  leagues  beyond  the  poor 
little  salvation  from  wrong-doing  which  most 
people  seek  in  order  to  escape  Hell.  It  is  a 
salvation  not  only  from  sin,  but  from  self, 
and  a  divine  union  with  God  in  Christ,  so 
intimate  and  so  sacred  that  father  and  mother 
and  wife  and  brother  and  sister  and  child, 
yea,  and  his  own  life,  are  all  shut  outside. 
And  yet  it  does  not  make  him  nerveless,  and 
lead  him  to  "sing  himself  away  to  everlast- 
ing bliss,"  but  rather  to  lavish  his  love  upon 
all  men  regardless  of  their  hatred  or  affec- 
tion, and  to  pour  his  life  out  a  sacrifice  for 
the  world.  Well  might  he  say,  "Follow  me 
as  I  follow  Christ." 

And  by  the  grace  of  God  I  will  follow. 

Will  you? 


ST.   PAUL  A  PATTERN.  69 

Are  the  experiences  of  justification  and  sancti- 
fication  distinct?  And  if  8O,  how  long  a  time 
must  intervene  between  them? 

Answer:  (1.)  They  arc  distinct.  The  Thes- 
salonians  were  justified,  for  the  apostle  tells  us 
that  they  had  received  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  had  such  faith  that  it  was  sounded  abroad 
throughout  the  whole  world,  and  they  endured 
bitter  persecutions  rather  than  deny  their  faith, 
but  yet  they  were  not  wholly  sanctified.  So, 
after  some  very  definite  instructions,  the  apostle 
said :  "And  the  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you 
wholly  :  and  I  pray  God  your  whole  spirit  and 
soul  and  body  be  preserved  blameless  unto  the 
coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  (1  Thess.  5: 
23.) 

The  experience  of  the  disciples  before  Pente- 
cost was  that  of  justified  persons.  They  received 
this  justification  when  they  believed  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  forsook  all  and  followed  Him.  But 
they  were  not  sanctified  wholly  until,  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  they  sought  and  received  the  bap- 
tism of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

(2.)  Only  so  long  a  time  need  elapse  between 
the  two  experiences  as  is  necessary  for  the  justi- 
fied soul  to  get  light  on  the  remains  of  the  car- 
nal mind  in  his  heart  and  the  way  by  which, 
through  faith  in  Jesus,  he  may  get  rid  of  it. 

Many  people  have  been  Justified  and  sanctified 
within  a  few  hours.  There  is  a  boy  In  one  of 
our  New  England  corps  who  received  the  two 
experiences  within  a  few  hours  of  each,  other, 


70  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

and  gives  the  clearest  and  most  definite  testi- 
mony to  both  works.  However,  in  most  cases 
months  and  even  years  intervene,  through  lack 
of  definite  teaching,  through  unwillingness  to 
obey  God,  and  through  weak  faith,  or  positive 
unbelief. 


TESTIFY    TO    THE    BLESSING.  71 


IX. 


TESTIFY    TO    THE    BLESSING. 

"And  they  overcame  him  by  the  Blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony." 
(Rev.  12:  11.) 

A  Lieutenant  got  the  blessing  of  a  clean 
heart  in  one  of  my  meetings  the  other  day, 
and  then  told  us  he  had  had  the  blessing 
once  before  but  lost  it  because  he  failed  to 
testify  to  it.  The  devil  suggested  that  it  was 
a  great  thing  to  testify  to  cleansing  from  all 
sin ;  that  people  would  not  understand  it ; 
that  they  would  criticize  him;  that  he  would 
better  live  it  and  say  nothing  about  it;  and 
so  on,  and  he  heeded  these  suggestions,  kept 
quiet,  and  so  lost  the  blessing. 

That  was  an  old  trick  of  the  devil's,  by 
which  he  has  cheated  many  a  soul  out  of  this 
pearl  of  greatest  price. 

Paul  says :  "With  the  heart  man  believeth 
unto  righteousness  and  with  the  mouth  con- 
fession is  made  unto  salvation."  The  con- 


72  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

fession  is  as  necessary  as  the  believing.  We 
insist  upon  this  in  the  matter  of  justification, 
and  it  is  equally  important  in  the  matter  of 
sanctification.  If  we  do  not  testify  definitely, 
humbly  and  constantly  to  the  blessed  experi- 
ence, we  put  our  light  under  a  bushel,  and 
it  naturally  goes  out. 

The  late  Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  received 
the  blessing  definitely,  was  filled  with  joy 
and  the  sweet  peace  of  Heaven  and  gave  a 
burning  testimony  of  the  fulness  of  the 
Spirit.  Soon  afterward  she  became  a  teacher 
in  a  ladies'  school  in  a  section  of  the  coun- 
try where  there  was  much  controversy  over 
the  doctrine  of  holiness.  She  was  advised 
by  her  mistaken  friends  to  keep  still  about 
sanctification,  which  she  did.  Years  after- 
wards she  sorrowfully  wrote:  "I  kept  still 
until  I  soon  found  I  had  nothing  in  particu- 
lar to  keep  still  about.  The  experience  left 
me.  That  sweet  persuasiveness,  that  heaven 
in  the  soul  which  I  came  to  know  in  Mrs. 
Palmer's  meeting,  I  do  not  now  feel." 

Mr.  Fletcher,  whom  Mr.  Wesley  believed 
to  be  the  holiest  man  that  had  lived  since 
days  of  the  Apostle  John,  made  this  confes- 
sion to  his  people:  "My  dear  brethren  and 
sisters,  God  is  here,  I  feel  Him  in  this  place; 
but  I  would  hide  my  face  in  the  dust,  because 
I  have  been  ashamed  to  declare  what  He  has 
done  for  me.  For  many  years  I  have  grieved 
His  Spirit,  but  I  am  deeply  humbled  and  He 
has  again  restored  my  soul.  Last  Wednes- 
day evening  He  spoke  to  me  by  these  words : 
'Reckon  ye  yourselves  therefore  to  be  dead 


TESTIFY    TO    THE    BLESSING.  73 

indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.'  I  obeyed  the  voice 
of  God ;  I  now  obey  it,  and  tell  you  all  to 
the  praise  of  His  love,  I  am  freed  from  sin, 
dead  unto  sin,  and  alive  unto  God.  I  re- 
ceived this  blessing  four  or  five  times  before, 
but  I  lost  it  by  not  obeying  the  order  of  God, 
who  has  told  us,  'with  the  heart  man  be- 
lieveth  unto  righteousness  and  with  the 
mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation.' 
But  the  enemy  offered  his  bait  under  various 
colors  to  keep  me  from  a  public  declaration 
of  what  God  had  wrought.  When  I  first 
received  the  grace,  Satan  made  me  wait 
awhile  till  I  saw  more  of  the  fruits.  I  re- 
solved to  do  so,  but  I  soon  began  to  doubt 
the  witness  which  before  I  had  felt  in  my 
heart,  and  I  was  in  a  little  while  sensible 
that  I  had  lost  both. 

"A  second  time  after  receiving  this  salva- 
tion (with  shame  I  confess  it)  I  was  kept 
from  being  a  witness  for  my  Lord  by  the 
suggestion,  'Thou  art  a  public  character ;  the 
eyes  of  all  are  upon  thee ;  and  if,  as  before, 
by  any  means  thou  lost  the  blessing,  it  will 
be  a  dishonor  to  the  doctrine  of  heart  holi- 
ness.' I  held  my  peace,  and  again  forfeited 
the  gift  of  God. 

"At  another  time  I  was  prevailed  upon  to 
hide  it  by  reasoning  thus :  'How  few  even 
of  the  children  of  God  will  receive  this  testi- 
mony! Many  of  them  suppose  that  every 
transgression  of  the  Adamic  law  is  sin,  and 
therefore,  if  I  profess  myself  to  be  free  from 
sin,  all  these  will  give  my  profession  the  He. 


74  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Because  I  am  not  free  in  their  sense,  I  am 
not  free  from  ignorance,  mistakes  and  in- 
firmities. I  will  therefore  enjoy  what  God 
hath  wrought  in  me,  but  I  will  not  say  I  am 
perfect  in  love.'  Alas !  I  soon  found  again : 
'He  that  hideth  his  Lord's  talent,  and  im- 
proveth  it  not,  from  that  unprofitable  serv- 
ant shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he 
seemeth  to  have.' 

"Now,  my  brethren,  you  see  my  folly.  I 
have  confessed  it  in  your  presence,  and  now 
I  am  resolved  before  you  all  to  confess  my 
Master.  I  will  confess  Him  to  all  the  world. 
And  I  declare  unto  you  in  the  presence  of 
God  the  Holy  Trinity  I  am  now  dead  in- 
deed unto  sin  and  alive  unto  God,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  who  is  my  indwelling  holi- 
ness." 

This  confession  put  Mr.  Fletcher  on  record, 
and  was  the  beginning  of  a  life  of  holiness 
that  has  but  few  parallels  for  beauty  and 
power.  It  is  only  at  this  point  of  glad, 
definite  testimony  that  Christian  life  and  ex- 
perience become  irresistibly  catching,  like 
fire  when  it  bursts  into  flame. 

Those  who  profess  this  blessing  are  often 
accused  of  boasting.  But  this  is  not  true. 
They  are  simply  declaring  that  }esus  has 
done  for  them  what  He  died  to  do-^-that  is, 
to  save  them  from  sin,  and  they  do  it  in  the 
spirit  of  a  man  who,  healed  of  a  deadly 
disease,  declares  what  the  doctor  has  done 
for  him.  It  is  done  to  bring  honor  to  the 
doctor,  and  to  encourage  other  poor  sufferers 
to  apply  to  him ;  and  to  withhold  such  testi- 


TESTIFY    TO    THE    BLESSING.  75 

mony  in  the  presence  of  multitudes  of  needy 
ones  would  be  a  crime. 

David  said :  "My  soul  shall  make  her  boast 
in  the  Lord;  the  humble  shall  hear  thereof 
and  be  glad."  Hallelujah! 

As  for  me,  I  feel  I  am  under  a  solemn 
obligation  to  let  everybody  know  that  Jesus 
is  alive  and  that  He  can  save  to  the  utter- 
most, and  I  am  determined  to  testify  to  this 
truth  not  simply  as  a  doctrine,  but  as  a 
glorious  experience  which  is  mine  just  now. 
Praise  the  Lord! 


Does  the  entirely  sanctified  soul  always  walk 
with  the  clear  light  of  the  Spirit  in  his  heart, 
or  may  he  expect  seasons  of  darkness? 

Answer :  He  may  always  have  the  clear  light 
of  the  Spirit  in  his  heart,  though  perhaps  not 
the  same  degree  of  clearness.  He  need  not  ex- 
pect seasons  of  darkness.  "This,  then,  is  the 
message  whic'h  we  have  heard  of  him  and  de- 
clare unto  you,  that  God  is  light,  and  in  Him 
is  no  darkness  at  all.  If  we  say  that  we  have 
fellowship  with  Him  and  walk  in  darkness,  we 
lie  and  do  not  the  truth.  But  if  we  walk  in  the 
light,  as  He  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship 
one  with  another,  and  the  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ, 
His  Son.  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  (1  John 
1 :  5-7.)  "For  ye  were  sometime  darkness, 


76  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

but  flow  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord ;  walk  as  chil- 
dren of  light.  (Ephesians  5:  8.)  "And  there 
fa  none  occasion  of  stumbling  in  him."  (1  John 
2:  10.) 

However,  a  sanctified  soul  may  be  in  great 
heaviness  on  account  of  temptations,  trials,  etc. 
"Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  though  now  for  a 
season,  if  need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  through 
manifold  temptations,  that  the  trial  of  your 
faith,  being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold 
that  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire 
might  be  found  unto  praise  and  honor  and  glory 
at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ."  (1  Peter 
1  :  6,  7.) 

Darkness  is  caused  by  sin ;  disobedience,  ua- 
belief,  lack  of  watchfulness  and  prayerful  ness, 
lack  of  love  and  charity  for  others,  neglect  of 
duty,  carelessness  and  trifling.  It  is  caused  by 
something  for  which  the  sanctified  soul  is  re- 
sponsible. 

Heaviness  may  be  caused  by  something  for 
which  the  soul  Is  not  responsible.  Perplexities, 
crosses,  malicious  temptations  of  the  devil,  the 
eins  of  others,  the  chastening  of  God  (as  in  the 
joase  of  Joseph,  Job  and  Paul  with  the  "thorn 
In  his  flesh"),  sickness  and  pain  may  lay  the 
eoul  open  to  very  painful  seasons  of  heaviness, 
ia  which,  however,  its  faith  holds  fast  to  the 
promises,  its  loyalty  to  God  is  unwavering,  and 
its  devotion  to  its  fellow  men  unquenchable." 

Paul  said  of  himself :  "We  are  troubled  on 
every  side,  yet  not  distressed ;  we  are  perplexed 
but  not  in  despair ;  persecuted  but  not  forsaken ; 
cast  down  but  not  destroyed."  (2  Cor.  4:  8,  9.) 

The  cause  of  darkness  should  be  sought  out 
and  heartily  repented  of. 

The  cause  of  heaviness  should  be  patiently 
borne  as  a  part  of  God's  disciplinary  providence. 
.(1  Peter  1-7.) 

"My  son,  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of 
the  Lord,  neither  be  thou  weary  of  His  correc- 
tion, for  whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chasteneth, 
evea  as  a  father  the  son  in  whom  he  deligihteth." 
(Prov.  3:  11,  12.)  (See  also  Hebrews  12:  5.) 


KNOWING    JESUS.  77 


X. 


KNOWING    JESUS. 

What  an  astonishing  thing  that  we  can 
know  Jesus !  And  yet  nothing  is  more  clearly 
taught  in  Scripture  or  more  joyously  testified 
to  in  experience  by  godly  people  than  this 
fact. 

This  is  an  age  of  specialists,  when  men 
devote  their  lives  to  the  pursuit  of  special 
departments  of  knowledge.  One  learned 
professor  will  give  fourteen  hours  a  day 
for  forty  years  to  the  study  of  fishes,  another 
to  the  study  of  birds,  another  to  that  of 
bugs,  and  yet  another  to  that  of  old  bones. 
Another,  more  ambitious,  devotes  his  life 
to  the  study  of  history,  the  rise  and  fall  of 
nations,  and  yet  another  to  astronomy,  the 
origin  and  history  of  worlds.  But  to  know 
Jesus  'Christ  is  infinitely  better  than  to 
know  all  that  has  been  learned  or  dreamed 
of  by  these  professors,  for  He  it  was  that 
"made  the  worlds,"  and  "without  Him  was 
not  anything  made  that  was  made." 


78  HEART  TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Personally,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  to 
know  Edison  would  be  worth  more  than 
knowing  one  or  all  of  his  works,  and  so  to 
know  Jesus  Christ  is  the  first  and  best  of 
all  knowledge.  Amen! 

The  knowledge  of  the  naturalist,  the  as- 
tronomer, the  historian,  may  be  of  passing 
value,  but  in  due  time  it  will  be  out-of-date 
and  fail.  But  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  of  infinite  value,  and  shall  never  pass 
away.  It  is  profitable  for  this  world,  and 
for  that  which  is  to  come,  and  only  by  it 
does  a  man  come  to  that  knowledge  of  him- 
self without  which  it  would  be  better  never 
to  have  been  born. 

1.  In  this   knowledge   of  Jesus   is   hidden 
the   germ   of   all   knowledge,   for    Paul   tells 
us  that  "in  Him  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom    and    knowledge."      (Coloss.    2:    3.) 
Am    I    eager    for    learning   and   knowledge? 
Let  me  constantly  seek  to  know   Him,   and 
in  due  time,  in  this  world,  or  in  the  next,  I 
shall   know   all  that  is   of  value  for  me  to 
know. 

2.  In  this  knowledge  lies  true  culture  of 
both  head  and  heart,  especially  of  the  heart 
In  the  words  of  one  of  the  greatest  living 
Christian     philosophers,     "it     enlarges     the 
individual  life  with  universal  ideas,  lifts  time 
into  the  stream  of  eternal  purpose,  and  fills 
it  with  eternal  issues ;    and  makes  the  sim- 
plest moral  act  great  as  a  real  factor  in  the 
evolution    of    a    higher    order    and    an    im- 
mortal character."     It  makes  a  man  patient 


KNOWING    JESUS.  79 

with  the  ignorant  and  erring  and  wayward, 
courteous  to  his  equals  and  superiors,  kindly 
and  generous  to  his  inferiors,  gentle  and 
considerate  in  his  own  home,  and  to  the 
woman  who  is  now  his  wife  as  he  was  to 
her  when  she  was  his  sweetheart,  loving 
and  forbearing  with  children,  thoughtful 
and  tender  with  the  aged  —  in  fact,  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus  (not  simply  scraps  of 
knowledge  about  Jesus)  makes  the  pos- 
sessor in  his  measure  like  Jesus.  Glory  to 
God! 

The  essence  of  this  knowledge  is  love. 
John  says,  "Every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of 
God,  and  knoweth  God.  He  that  loveth  not, 
knoweth  not  God,  for  God  is  love."  This 
love  is  a  heavenly  thing.  The  sinner,  farthest 
away  from  God,  loves  his  own,  loves  those 
who  love  him  and  do  him  good.  But  this 
love  is  that  which  pours  itself  out  upon 
strangers,  upon  enemies,  and  upon  those 
that  despitefully  use  us  and  say  all  manner 
of  evil  against  us;  so  we  come  to  see  that 
to  know  Jesus,  we  must  be  like  Jesus,  must 
have  an  affinity  for  Him,  must  be  trans- 
formed into  His  image;  in  other  words,  we 
must  be  born  again  and  sanctified  by  His  in- 
dwelling Spirit. 

Judas  lived  with  Jesus  in  the  intimacy  of  a 
disciple  for  three  years,  but  if  he  ever  knew 
Jesus  he  must  have  lost  that  knowledge 
before  he  could  have  gone  out  to  betray  Him 
with  a  kiss.  So  we  may  profess  the  knowledge 
of  Jesus,  but  when  by  wicked  tempers  and  un- 
holy conduct  and  deceitful  and  sinful  char- 


80  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

acter,  we  manifest  a  spirit  contrary  to  His, 
we  give  the  lie  to  our  profession.  In  so  far 
as  we  are  unlike  Him,  to  that  extent  we  are 
ignorant  of  Him. 

How,  then,  shall  we  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  Jesus? 

First.  We  must  utterly  and  forever  re- 
nounce sin,  and  seek  forgiveness  for  past 
bad  conduct,  trusting  in  the  merits  of  His 
atonement  for  acceptance  with  God,  singing 
from  our  hearts,  "Oh,  the  Blood,  the  Blood 
is  all  my  plea."  When  we  do  this  we  shall 
come  into  an  initial  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

Second.  But  we  must  not  only  renounce 
our  sins;  we  must  also  renounce  self.  In 
an  all-night  of  prayer  several  years  ago,  I 
looked  at  the  great  audience  and  queried  of 
the  Lord  in  my  heart,  "How  can  all  these 
people  get  to  heaven?"  and  in  the  depth  of 
my  soul  sounded  back  the  words,  "He  bowed 
His  head  and  gave  up  the  ghost." 

And  I  saw  how  men  get  to  heaven,  and 
how  they  gain  the  knowledge  of  Jesus.  He 
gave  Himself  for  us,  and  we  must  give  our- 
selves for  Him,  and  trust  and  obey,  and  wait 
expectantly  until  He  comes  to  our  hearts 
and  reveals  Himself  to  us,  and  this  will  He 
do  when  we  seek  Him  with  all  the  heart.  He 
surely  will. 

Paul  said,  "What  things  were  gain  to  me, 
those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ,"  by  which 


KNOWING    JESUS.  81 

things  he  referred  to  his  lineage  from  Abra- 
ham, his  exact  fulfilment  of  the  law,  and  his 
zeal  for  his  church,  and  adds,  "Yea,  doubt- 
less, and  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the 
excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus, 
my  Lord,  for  whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss 
of  all  things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung 
that  I  may  win  Christ  and  be  found  in  Him, 
.  .  .  that  I  may  know  Him." 

People  who  seek  this  knowledge  without 
this  sacrifice  of  self  may  flatter  themselves 
that  they  know  Him,  but  when  the  testing 
time  comes,  the  hours  of  loneliness  and  loss, 
and  sickness  and  pain,  and  disappointment 
and  perplexity,  and  thwarted  hopes  and  deso- 
lation, they  will  find  their  sad  mistake.  The 
fire  will  reveal  their  dross  and  sin.  But 
to  those  who  make  and  abide  in  this  sacri- 
fice, and,  fighting  the  good  fight  of  faith, 
steadfastly  and  joyously  believe,  furnace  fires 
and  lions'  dens  and  dungeon  cells  but  dis- 
close more  fully  the  loveliness  of  His  face, 
the  certainty  of  His  presence,  the  unfailing 
strength  and  comforts  of  His  love. 

Third.  This  knowledge  to  be  maintained 
must  be  cultivated,  which  is  done  by  com- 
munion with  Him.  It  is  possible  for  a  hus- 
band and  wife  to  live  together  for  many 
years,  and  instead  of  increasing,  except  in 
the  most  superficial  way,  in  the  knowledge 
of  each  other,  to  grow  apart,  until  after  many 
years  they  are  heart  strangers  to  each  other, 
with  separate  interests,  conflicting  desires 
and  tempers  and  alien  affinities.  To  really 


82  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

know  each  other  they  must  be  bound  to- 
gether by  stronger  ties  than  mere  legal 
forms;  they  must  commune  with  each  other, 
live  in  each  other's  hearts,  enter  into  each 
other's  joys  and  share  each  other's  sorrows, 
counsel  each  other  in  perplexity,  seek  the 
same  ends  and  cultivate  the  same  spirit. 

And  so  to  know  Jesus  there  must  be  sym- 
pathy, fellowship,  friendship,  constantly  cul- 
tivated ;  the  heart  must  turn  to  Him, 
pour  itself  out  before  Him,  share  its  hopes, 
its  joys,  its  fears  with  Him,  draw  its  consola- 
tions, its  strength,  its  courage,  its  sufficiency, 
its  life,  from  Him,  trust  and  obey  Him  and 
delight  itself  in  Him  as  its  everlasting  por- 
tion. 

Secret  prayer  must  often  bring  the  soul 
face  to  face  with  Him,  and  the  Bible,  God's 
record  of  Him,  must  be  daily,  diligently  and 
lovingly  searched,  and  faithfully  applied  to 
the  daily  life.  Thus  shall  we  know  Him, 
and  be  "changed  into  the  same  image,  from 
glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord," 
and  people  shall  see  and  feel  "Christ  in  us, 
the  hope  of  glory." 

O  Jesus,  Saviour,  how  I  bless  Thee  that 
Thou  didst  seek  me  when  lost  and  far  from 
Thee  and  altogether  unlike  Thee,  and  didst 
woo  me,  and  win  me,  and  lead  me  to  Thy- 
self, and  reveal  Thyself  to  me,  and  make  me 
to  know  Thee,  and  ravish  my  heart,  and  hum- 
ble my  pride  with  the  joy  and  love  and  glory 
that  that  best  of  all  knowledge  brings!  Still 


KNOWING  JESUS.  83 

reveal  Thyself,  O  Lord,  to  Thy  people,  that 
they  may  know  Thee,  and  glorify  Thee  and 
be  satisfied  with  Thy  loving  kindness,  and 
fill  the  earth  with  Thy  fame! 


Does  justification  fit  people  for  heaven? 

Answer :  No ;  it  gives  a  title,  but  sanctiflca- 
tion  gives  the  fitness.  This  is  the  teaching  of 
every  orthodox  creed  in  Christendom.  The  only 
dispute  is  as  to  the  manner  and  the  time  of 
receiving  it.  The  command  is :  "Follow  peace 
with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which  no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord."  Every  honest  soul 
who  is  justified  wants  holiness,  and  if  he  obeys 
God  and  walks  in  the  light  he  will  get  it  very 
shortly. 


84  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 


XL 


FREEDOM    FROM    SIN. 

The  most  startling  thing  about  sin  is  its 
power  to  enslave.  Jesus  said,  ''He  that 
committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of  sin,"  and 
every-day  life  and  experience  prove  the  say- 
ing to  be  true.  Let  a  boy  or  a  man  tell  a 
lie  and  he  is  henceforth  the  servant  of  false- 
hood unless  freed  by  a  higher  power.  Let 
the  bank  clerk  misappropriate  funds,  let  the 
business  man  yield  to  a  trick  in  trade,  let 
the  young  man  surrender  to  the  clamor  of 
lust,  let  the  youth  take  an  intoxicating  glass, 
and  henceforth  he  is  a  slave.  The  cord  that 
holds  him  may  be  light  and  silken,  and  he 
may  boast  that  he  is  free,  but  he  deceives 
himself;  he  is  no  longer  free,  he  is  a  bond- 
man. 

We  may  choose  the  path  in  life  we  will 
take;  the  course  of  conduct;  the  friends 
with  whom  we  will  associate ;  the  habits  we 
will  form,  whether  good  or  bad;  but  having 


FREEDOM    FROM    SIN.  85 

chosen  the  ways  of  sin  we  are  then  swept  on 
without  further  choice  by  a  swiftness  and 
certainty  down  to  hell,  just  as  a  man  who 
chooses  to  go  on  board  a  ship  is  surely 
taken  to  the  destined  harbor,  however  much 
he  may  wish  to  go  elsewhere.  We  choose 
and  then  we  are  chosen ;  we  grasp  and  then 
we  are  grasped  by  a  power  stronger  than 
ourselves,  like  the  man  who  takes  hold  of 
the  poles  of  an.  electric  battery;  he  grasps 
but  he  cannot  let  go  at  his  will;  like  the 
man  who  took  the  baby  boa-constrictor  and 
trained  it  to  coil  about  him,  but  when  grown 
it  crushed  him ;  like  the  lion  tamer  who  put 
his  head  in  the  lion's  mouth,  but  one  day 
the  lion  closed  his  mouth  and  crushed  his 
head  as  he  might  an  eggshell. 

Just  so  the  sinner  is  in  the  grasp  of  a 
higher  power  than  his  own.  He  chooses 
drink,  dancing,  gambling,  worldly  pleasure, 
or  human  wisdom  and  fame  and  power,  but 
soon  finds  himself  captive,  only  to  be  surely 
crushed  and  ruined  forever,  unless  delivered 
by  some  power  outside  himself.  What  shall 
he  do?  Is  there  hope?  Is  there  a  deliverer? 
Yes,  thank  God,  there  is.  Jesus  said,  "Whom 
the  Son  maketh  free  is  free  indeed." 

Let  the  sinner  cry  to  Jesus  and  He  will 
break  the  lion's  jaw  and  paralyze  the  ser- 
pent's mighty  coil,  and  turn  back  the  current 
of  the  devil's  electricity,  and  set  the  en- 
slaved captives  free.  Glory  to  God ! 

Some  years  ago,  as  I  was  passing  out  of 
a  church  near  Boston,  one  Sunday  night,  a 
young  man,  an  artist,  stopped  me  and  said, 


86  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

"Brother  Brengle,  do  you  mean  to  say  that 
Jesus  can  save  a  man  from  all  sin?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  I  replied,  "that  is  exactly  what 
I  mean  to  say." 

"Well,  if  He  can,"  said  he,  "I  want  Him 
to  save  me,  for  I  am  the  victim  of  a  habit 
that  masters  me.  I  struggle  and  vow  and 
make  good  resolutions,  but  fall  again,  and 
I  want  deliverance." 

I  pointed  him  to  Jesus.  We  prayed,  and 
the  work  was  done.  Glory  to  'God !  He 
remained  in  and  around  Boston  for  six 
months,  shining  and  shouting  for  Jesus,  and 
then  went  to  California.  Eleven  years  later 
I  went  to  San  Francisco.  One  day  I  heard 
a  knock  on  my  door.  A  young  man  entered, 
looked  at  me  and  inquired,  "Do  you  know 
me?" 

I  replied,  "Yes,  sir;  you  are  the  young 
man  that  Jesus  saved  from  a  bad  habit  about 
twelve  years  ago  near  Boston." 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "and  He  saves  me  still." 

"Whom  the  Son  maketh  free  is  free  in- 
deed." 

"He  breaks  the  power  of  canceled  sin, 
He  sets  the  prisoner  free." 

This  freedom  is  altogether  complete.  Jesus 
told  the  disciples  to  loose  a  colt  that  was 
tied  and  bring  it  to  Him.  Mark  tells  us 
that  He  loosed  the  tongue  of  a  dumb  man 
and  he  spake  plain.  John  tells  us  that  when 
Lazarus  came  forth  from  the  grave  he  was 
"bound  hand  and  foot  with  grave  clothes, 
end  his  face  was  bound  about  with  a  nap- 


FREEDOM    FROM    SIN.  87 

kin.  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Loose  him  and 
let  him  go." 

Now  John  uses  exactly  the  same  Greek 
word  when  He  says  of  Jesus,  "For  this  pur- 
pose was  the  Son  of  God  manifested  that  He 
might  destroy"  (loose)  "the  works  of  the 
devil." 

In  other  words,  he  whom  Jesus  makes  free 
is  loosed  from  the  works  oi  the  devil — un- 
hitched from  them — as  fully  as  was  the  colt 
from  the  post  to  which  it  was  tied,  or  as  was 
Lazarus  from  his  grave  clothes.  Hallelujah! 
The  sinner  is  bound  to  his  guilty  past,  but 
Jesus  forgives  and  forgets  it,  and  he  is  no 
longer  subject  to  the  penalty  of  the  broken 
law. 

The  converted  man  is  bound  to  his  inbred 
sin.  Jesus  looses  him  and  he  is  free  indeed. 
It  is  a  complete  deliverance  a  perfect  liberty, 
a  heavenly  freedom  that  Jesus  gives,  by 
bringing  the  soul  under  the  law  of  liberty, 
which  is  the  law  of  LOVE. 


What  is  the  difference  between  justification 
and  sanctlflcation? 

Answer :  In  justification,  a  man  is  freely  for- 
given all  his  sins,  is  partially  renewed  in 
the  divine  image,  is  adopted  into  God's  family 
and  enters  into  peace.  "Being  justified  by  faith 


88  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

we  have  peace  -with  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  (Rom.  5:  1.)  "Ye  have  received 
the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba, 
Father.  The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with 
our  spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of  God." 
(Rom.  8:  15,  16.) 

In  justification,  however,  there  are  remains  of 
the  carnal  mind.  It  is  a  mixed  state  in  which 
evil  tempers,  dispositions  and  desires  war  against 
the  divine  nature  in  the  soul.  Paul  describes  it 
when  he  says :  "The  flesh  battles  against  the 
Spirit  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these 
are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other,  so  that  we 
may  not  do  the  things  that  we  would."  (Gal. 
5:  17,  R.  V.)  Many  people  also  consider  the  last 
part  of  Rom.  7  as  a  description  of  the  struggle 
of  the  justified  soul  against  its  inbred  sin. 

In  sanctification,  a  man  is  delivered  from  the 
remains  of  the  earnal  mind,  from  doubts  and 
fears,  evil  tempers  and  desires,  shame  of  the 
cross  and  the  like,  and  is  made  perfect  in  sub- 
mission, in  faith,  In  love.  "But  now,  being  made 
free  from  sin  and  become  servants  to  God,  ye 
bave  your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  ever- 
lasting life."  (Rom.  6:  22.)  "But  the  fruit  of 
the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gen- 
tleness, goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance: 
and  they  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the 
flesh  with  the  affections  and  lusts."  (Gal.  6: 
22-24.)  "Ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God."  (Col.  3:  3.) 


WRESTLERS     WITH    GOD.  89 


XII. 


WRESTLERS    WITH    GOD. 

Rev.  William  Bramwell  writes  in  one  of 
his  letters,  "Almost  every  night  there  has 
been  a  shaking  among  the  people,  and  I  have 
seen  nearly  twenty  set  at  liberty."  Then 
he  adds  these  heart-searching  words,  "I  be- 
lieve I  should  have  seen  many  more,  but  I 
cannot  yet  find  one  pleading  man.  There 
are  many  good  people,  but  I  have  found  no 
wrestlers  with  God." 

O  my  Lord,  that  is  what  we  want!  In 
these  days  of  organizations,  of  societies, 
leagues,  committees,  multiplied  and  diver- 
sified soul-saving  and  ecclesiastical  ma- 
chinery, together  with  world-wide  oppor- 
tunity above  all  things  else  we  want  "wrest- 
lers with  God" — men  and  women  who  know 
how  to  pray  and  who  do  pray ;  not  men 
and  women  who  say  prayers,  but  who  pour 
out  their  hearts  to  Him,  who  call  Him  to 
remembrance  and  "keep  not  silence  and  give 


90  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Him  no  rest  till   He   establish  and  till  He 
make  Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth." 

Some  weeks  ago  I  went  to  a  corps  for  the 
Sunday  morning  meeting,  just  one  meeting. 
Not  many  people  knew  I  was  coming.  No 
special  preparation  was  made ;  snow  was 
on  the  ground,  and  less  than  one  hundred 
people  were  present.  But  a  wrestler  with 
God  was  there,  and  oh,  how  he  prayed !  My 
heart  melts  within  me  yet  as  I  think  of  it. 
He  pleaded  with  God,  he  poured  out  his 
heart  before  Him.  In  his  manner  and  words 
he  was  wondrously  familiar  with  God,  but 
it  was  that  sweet  familiarity  that  comes  from 
utter  self-abasement  and  deepest  humility, 
and  which  enables  its  possessor  to  come 
with  unabashed  faith  right  face  to  face  with 
God  and  ask  great  things  of  Him,  because 
asking  only  for  His  honor  and  the  glory  of 
His  Son.  That  morning  twenty-four  people 
were  at  the  penitent-form  seeking  the 
Lord! 

Several  years  ago  the  writer  of  this  wrote 
an  article  on  the  prayers  of  soul-winners. 
It  fell  into  the  hands  of  two  young  officers, 
one  of  whom  is  now  in  India,  and  they 
began  to  pray,  and  one  of  them,  it  was  re- 
ported, prayed  all  Saturday  night.  The 
next  day  they  went  to  a  hard  corps,  where 
it  had  almost  been  impossible  to  get  anyone 
to  make  a  start  for  Heaven,  and  that  day 
they  saw  sixty-two  people  seeking  God. 

The  same  article  was  read  by  a  Captain 
in  a  certain  corps.  She  became  interested 


WRESTLERS     WITH    GOD.  91 

and  read  it  to  her  soldiers,  urging  them  to 
greater  diligence  in  prayer.  The  spirit  of 
prayer  fell  on  the  soldiers,  and  some  of 
them  used  to  ask  the  Captain  for  the  key 
and  spend  half  the  night  in  the  hall  wrest- 
ling with  God  until  His  power  fell  on  the 
people,  and  scores  of  sinners  were  converted, 
and  the  largest  corps  in  that  State  was  built 
up,  and  the  whole  city  was  stirred. 

The  other  day  a  staff  officer,  in  charge  of 
a  band  of  boys,  told  me  that  a  short  time 
before  he  went  with  his  boys  into  a  town 
that  after  two  hours'  wrestling  with  God 
he  got  the  assurance  of  a  revival.  In  eight- 
een days  they  saw  one  hundred  and  fifty 
people  seeking  salvation,  and  fifty  more  seek- 
ing the  blessing  of  a  clean  heart. 

More  than  all  else  the  Lord  wants  these 
wrestling,  pleading  men. 

Indeed,  there  are  many  good  men,  but  few 
wrestlers  with  God.  There  are  many  who 
are  interested  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  who 
are  pleased  to  see  it  prosper  in  their  corps, 
their  church,  their  city,  their  country.  But 
there  are  but  few  who  bear  the  burden  of 
the  world  upon  their  souls  day  and  night, 
who  make  His  cause  in  every  clime  their 
own,  and  who,  like  Eli,  would  die  if  the  ark 
of  God  were  taken ;  who  feel  it  an  awful 
shame  and  a  consuming  sorrow,  if  victory 
is  not  continually  won  in  His  name. 

This  spirit  of  prayer  is  fed  on  the  Word  of 
God.  He  who  neglects  diligent,  daily  study 
of  and  meditation  in  the  Word  of  God  will 
soon  neglect  secret  prayer,  while  he  who 


92  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

feeds  upon  it  will  be  constantly  pouring  out 
his  heart  in  prayer  and  praise,  and  in  this 
as  in  all  things,  regular  practise  will  culti- 
vate, increase  and  perfect  the  spirit  of 
prayer. 

Again,  this  spirit  of  prayer  will  only  thrive 
where  faith  is  active.  Lazy,  slow  faith 
quenches  prayer. 

Prayer  must  be  followed  by  watchfulness 
and  dead-in-earnest,  patient  work,  else  it 
will  soon  grow  sickly  and  die. 

Light  and  foolish  talking  and  jesting, 
pride,  oversensitiveness  that  leads  to  sus- 
picion, jealousy,  envy,  selfish  ambition  even 
in  Christian  work,  indulgence  of  appetite, 
love  of  the  applause  of  men  and  desire  for 
the  honor  that  man  can  give,  an  uncharitable 
spirit,  criticism  and  the  like,  will  surely 
quench  the  spirit  of  prayer. 

Jesus  says,  "Men  ought  always  to  pray 
and  not  to  faint,"  while  Paul  says,  "Pray 
without  ceasing." 


WRESTLERS     WITH    GOD.  93 

If  a  sanctified  person  loses  the  blessing,  has 
he  also  lost  his  justification?  and  does  he  have 
to  be  forgiven  and  justified  before  he  can  claim 
sanctification? 

Answer :  A  man  who  has  lost  the  blessing 
can,  by  hearty  repentance,  confession  and  faith, 
get  back  at  one  step  to  the  place  from  which  he 
fell,  and  in  some  cases  persons  whose  hearts 
have  been  broken  with  contrition  have  so  trusted 
Jesus  as  to  enter  into  a  deeper,  richer  experience 
than  they  had  before  they  .fell.  They  need  not 
trouble  themselves  about  these  fine  distinctions, 
but  turn  to  the  Lord  with  a  true  heart,  trust 
Him,  and  He  will  receive  them.  "He  that 
coveretih  his  sins  ahall  not  prosper ;  but  whoso 
confesseth  and  forsaketh  them  shall  find  mercy." 
(Prov.  28:  13.)  "If  we  confess  our  sins  He 
•is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins  and 
to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness."  (1  John 
1:  9.)  "My  little  children,  these  things  write  I 
unto  you  that  ye  sin  not.  And  if  any  man  sin 
we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous."  (1  John  2:  1.)  This 
does  not  give  us  license  to  sin,  but  gives  us 
liope  that  if  we  in  an  evil  hour  do  sin  we  can 
get  back  again.  In  the  first  six  verses  of  the 
thirtieth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  God  promises 
Chat  if  the  people  who  have  left  Him  sihall  re- 
pent of  their  sins  and  turn  to  Him  with  all 
their  hearts,  that  He  will  receive  them  and  will 
restore  them  all  that  they  have  lost,  and  adds : 
"The  Lord  thy  God  will  circumcise  thine  heart, 
and  the  heart  of  thy  seed,  to  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thine  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
that  thou  mayest  live." 


94  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 


xm, 


UNION    WITH   JESUS. 

Jesus  said,  "I  and  My  Father  are  one," 
and  it  is  His  loving  purpose  that  you  and  I 
shall  be  able  to  say  that  too,  and  say  it  now 
in  this  present  time,  in  the  face  of  the  devil, 
and  in  holy,  triumphant  defiance  of  a  frown- 
ing world  and  of  shrinking,  trembling  flesh. 

There  is  a  union  with  Jesus  as  intimate  as 
that  of  the  branch  and  the  vine,  or  as  that 
of  the  various  members  of  the  body  with  the 
head,  or  as  that  between  Jesus  and  the 
Father.  This  is  shown  by  such  Scriptures 
as  that  in  which  Jesus  said,  "I  am  the  Vine, 
ye  are  the  branches,"  and  in  His  great  in- 
tercessory prayer  where  He  prays,  "that 
they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in 
Me  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  may  be  one  in 
Us."  It  is  also  shown  in  such  passages  as 
that  in  which  Paul,  speaking  of  Jesus,  says 
that  "God  hath  put  all  things  under  His  feet 
and  gave  Him  to  be  the  head  over  all 
things  to  the  Church,  which  is  His  body," 


UNION   WITH   JESUS.  95 

and  again,  "that  we  may  grow  up  into  Him 
in  all  things,  which  is  the  Head,  even 
Christ,"  and  again,  "He  that  sanctifieth  and 
they  that  are  sanctified  are  all  of  one."  It 
is  also  shown  clearly  in  Paul's  testimony, 
"I  am  crucified  with  Christ,  neverthe- 
less I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in 
me." 

This  union  is,  of  course,  not  physical,  but 
spiritual,  and  can  be  known  to  the  one  who 
has  entered  into  it  by  the  direct  witness  of 
the  Spirit;  but  it  can  be  known  to  others 
only  by  its  effects  and  fruits  in  the  life. 

This  spiritual  union  is  mysterious  yet 
simple,  and  many  of  our  every-day  relation- 
ships partially  illustrate  it. 

Where  two  people  have  interests  or  pur- 
poses the  same,  they  are  to  that  exterit  one. 
A  liberal,  conservative,  or  unionist  is  one 
with  every  other  man  of  his  party  through- 
out the  whole  country  in  so  far  as  they  hold 
similar  principles.  This  is  an  imperfect  sort 
of  union.  And  yet  it  is  union.  Our  Gen- 
eral may  be  in  any  part  of  the  world,  push- 
ing forward  his  mighty  schemes  of  conquest 
for  Jesus,  and  every  other  Salvationist,  how- 
ever humble  he  may  be,  just  in  so  far  as  he 
has  the  same  spirit  and  ideals  as  the  General, 
is  one  with  him.  A  husband  and  wife,  or  a 
boy  and  his  mother,  may  be  separated  by 
continents  and  seas,  and  yet  be  one.  For  six 
months  three  thousand  miles  of  wild  waves 
rolled  between  me  and  a  little  woman  I 
rejoiced  to  call  "wife,"  bu£  my  heart  was  as 
absolutely  true  to  her  and  my  confidence  in 


96  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

her  fidelity   was   as   supreme   as   now   when 
we  sit  side  by  side — and  we  are  one. 

But  more  perfect,  more  tender,  more  holy 
and  infinitely  more  self-consuming  and  en- 
nobling and  enduring  is  the  union  of  the 
soul  with  Jesus  than  is  any  other  possible 
relationship.  It  is  like  the  union  of  the  bay 
with  the  sea.  It  is  the  union  of  nature,  a 
commingling  of  spirit,  an  eternal  marriage  of 
heart  and  soul  and  mind. 

1.  It  is  a  union ^  of  will.  Jesus  said,  "I 
came  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  Mine 
own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Me," 
and  again,  "My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of 
Him  that  sent  Me.'  And  so  it  is  with  those 
who  are  one  with  Jesus.  The  Psalmist  said, 
"I  delight  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God,"  and  that 
is  the  testimony  of  everyone  who  has  en- 
tered into  this  divine  union.  There  may, 
and  doubtless  will,  be  times  when  this  will 
is  hard  to  the  flesh  and  blood,  but  even  then 
the  soul  says  with  its  Lord,  "Not  my  will, 
but  Thine  be  done,"  and  prays  always,  "Thy 
will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven." 

In  the  very  nature  of  things  there  can  be 
no  union  with  Jesus  without  this  union  of 
will,  for  there  is  really  very  little  of  a  man 
but  his  will.  That  is  really  all  he  can  call 
his  own.  His  mind  with  all  its  splendid 
powers  and  possibilities  may  be  reduced  to 
idiocy;  he  may  be  robbed  of  his  property; 
his  health,  and  even  his  life  may  be  taken 
from  him,  but  who  can  enter  into  the  do- 
main of  his  will  and  rob  him  of  that? 


UNION   WITH   JESUS.  97 

I  say  it  reverently,  so  far  as  we  know,  not 
even  'God  Himself  can  compel  a  man's  will. 
God  wants  to  enter  into  a  partnership,  an 
infinitely  tender  and  exalting  fellowship,  a 
spiritual  marriage  with  the  will  of  man,  and 
He  approaches  man  with  tremendous  induce- 
ments and  motives  of  infinite  profit  and  loss, 
and  yet  the  man  may  resist  and  utterly 
thwart  the  loving  thought  and  purpose  of 
God.  He  can  refuse  to  surrender  his  will. 
But  surrender  he  must,  if  there  is  to  be  a 
union  between  him  and  God,  for  God's  will, 
based  as  it  is  on  eternal  righteousness, 
founded  in  infinite  knowledge  and  wisdom 
and  love,  is  unchangeable,  and  man's  high- 
est good  is  in  a  hearty  and  affectionate  sur- 
render to  it  and  a  union  with  it. 

2.  It  is  a  union  of  faith — of  mutual  confi- 
dence and  esteem.  God  trusts  him,  and  he 
trusts  God.  God  can  entrust  him  with  the 
honor  of  His  name  and  His  holy  character 
in  the  midst  of  a  world  of  rebels.  God  can 
empower  him  and  beautify  him  with  His 
Spirit  and  adorn  him  with  all  heavenly 
graces,  without  any  fear  that  the  man  will 
take  the  glory  of  these  things  to  himself. 
God  can  heap  upon  him  riches  and  treasures 
and  honors  without  any  fear  that  the  man 
will  use  them  for  selfish  ends  or  prostitute 
them  to  unholy  purposes. 

Again,  the  man  trusts  God.  He  trusts 
God  when  he  cannot  trace  Him.  He  has 
confidence  in  the  faithfulness  and  love  of 
God  in  adversity  as  well  as  in  prosperity. 


98  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

He  does  not  have  to  be  fed  on  sweetmeats 
and  live  in  sunshine  and  sleep  on  roses  in 
order  to  believe  that  God  is  for  him.  God 
can  mingle  bitter  with  all  His  sweets,  and 
allow  the  thorns  to  prick  him,  and  the 
storm-clouds  to  roll  all  about  him,  and  yet 
he  will  stubbornly  trust  on.  Like  Job,  his 
property  may  be  swept  away  in  a  day,  and 
his  children  die  about  him,  and  yet  with  Job 
he  will  say,  "The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord,"  and  still  trust  on. 

His  own  life  may  be  menaced  and  be 
filled  with  weariness  and  pain,  and  his  faith- 
less wife  bid  him  curse  God  and  die,  and 
yet  he  will  say,  "What !  shall  we  receive 
good  at  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  we 
not  receive  evil?"  and  still  trust  on. 

His  friends  may  gather  about  him  and 
attack  his  Christian  integrity  and  character, 
and  foolishly  assault  the  foundations  of  his 
faith  by  assuring  him  that  if  he  were  right 
•with  God  these  calamities  could  never  be- 
fall him,  and  yet  he  will  look  up  from  his 
ash-heap  and  out  of  his  utter  wreck  and 
ruin  and  desolation,  cry,  "Though  He  slay 
me,  yet  will  I  trust  Him."  And  though 
communities  or  nations  conspire  against 
him,  he  will  say  with  David,  "The  Lord  is 
my  light  and  my  salvation;  whom  shall  I 
fear?  The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life; 
of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid?  Though  an 
host  should  encamp  against  me  my  heart 
shall  not  fear;  though  war  should  rise 
against  me,  in  this  will  I  be  confident." 


UNION   WITH   JESUS.  99 

.A  woman  said  to  me  the  other  day,  "I 
dread  to  think  of  the  end  of  the  world,  it 
makes  me  afraid."  But  though  worlds,  like 
drunken  men,  tumble  from  their  orbits,  and 
though  the  universe  crash  into  ruin,  the 
child-like  confidence  of  the  man  who  trusts 
God  will  enable  him  to  sing  with  the  Psalm- 
ist, "God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very 
present  help  in  trouble.  Therefore  will  not 
we  fear  though  the  earth  be  removed,  and 
though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the 
midst  of  the  sea,  though  the  waters  thereof 
roar  and  be  troubled,  though  the  mountains 
shake  with  the  swelling  thereof." 

God  can  be  familiar  with  such  a  man. 
He  can  take  all  sorts  of  liberties  with  his 
property,  his  reputation,  his  position,  his 
friends,  his  health,  his  life,  and  allow  devils 
and  men  to  taunt  him ;  but  the  man  un- 
changeably fixed  in  his  estimate  of  God's 
holy  character  and  everlasting  love,  will 
still  triumphantly  trust  on. 

3.  It  is  a  union  of  suffering,  of  sympathy. 
Once  when  I  was  passing  through  what 
seemed  to  me  a  perfect  hell  of  spiritual 
temptation  and  suffering,  the  Lord  sup- 
ported me  with  this  text,  "In  all  their  afflic- 
tions He  was  afflicted."  (Isaiah  60:  9.)  The 
prophet  refers  in  these  words  to  the  afflic- 
tions of  the  children  of  Israel  in  Egypt  and 
in  the  wilderness  after  their  escape  from  the 
hard  bondage  of  Pharaoh,  and  he  says  that 
in  all  their  sufferings  Jesus  suffered  with 
them. 


100  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Let  her  child  be  racked  with  pain  and 
scorched  with  fever  and  choked  with  croup, 
yet  the  mother  suffers  more  than  the  child ; 
and  so  let  the  people  of  God  be  sore  tempted 
and  tried,  and  Jesus  agonizes  with  them. 
He  is  the  world's  great  Sufferer.  His  passion 
is  forever.  He  once  tasted  death  for  every 
man.  He  suffers  still  with  every  man.  There 
is  not  a  cry  of  anguish,  nor  a  heartache,  nor 
a  pang  of  spiritual  pain  in  all  the  world 
that  does  not  reach  His  ear  and  touch  His 
heart,  and  stir  all  His  mighty  sympathies. 
But  especially  does  He  suffer  and  sympathize 
with  His  own  believing  children.  And  in 
turn  the  man  who  is  one  with  Jesus  suffers 
and  sympathizes  with  Jesus.  Any  injury  to 
the  cause  of  Christ  causes  him  more  pain 
and  injury  than  any  of  his  own  personal  in- 
terests can  do.  He  mourns  over  the  desola- 
tion of  Zion  more  than  over  the  loss  of  his 
property.  The  lukewarmness  of  Christians 
cuts  him  to  the  heart.  The  cry  of  the  heathen 
for  the  Gospel  of  salvation  is  to  him  the  cry 
of  the  travail,  the  agony  of  Jesus  Himself. 
\He  gladly  says,  with  David,  "The  reproaches 
of  them  that  reproached  Thee  have  falle» 
upon  me."  He  esteems  the  reproach  of 
"Christ  greater  treasure  than  all  the  pleasure 
and  power  and  profits  of  this  world  com- 
bined. As  the  true  wife  gladly  suffers  pri- 
vation and  shame  and  reproach  with  her 
husband  whom  she  knows  to  be  righteous 
and  honorable,  so  he  who  is  one  with  Jesus 
"rejoices  that  he  is  counted  worthy  to  suffer 


UNION   WITH   JESUS.  101 

shame  for  His  name."    He  suffers  and  sym- 
pathizes with  Jesus. 

4.  It  is  a  union  of  purpose.  The  great 
mass  of  men  serve  God  for  reward ;  they 
do  not  want  to  go  to  hell ;  they  want  to  go 
to  heaven.  And  that  is  right.  But  it  is 
not  the  highest  motive.  There  is  a  union 
with  Jesus  in  which  the  soul  is  not  so 
anxious  to  escape  hell  as  it  is  to  be  free 
from  sin,  and  in  which  heaven  is  not  so 
desirable  as  holiness.  The  soul  in  this  state 
thinks  very  little  about  its  reward.  His  smile 
of  approval  is  its  heaven.  The  housekeeper 
wants  wages,  but  the  wife  never  thinks  of 
such  a  thing.  She  serves  for  love.  She 
is  one  in  purpose  with  her  husband.  His 
triumphs  are  hers.  His  losses  are  hers.  All 
he  has  is  hers,  and  she  is  his.  And,  as  the 
Apostle  says,  "All  things  are  yours,  and  ye 
are  Christ's."  The  will  of  God  is  the  su- 
preme good  of  this  man.  Someone  has  said 
that  if  two  angels  were  sent  into  this  world, 
one  of  whom  was  to  rule  it,  and  the  other 
was  to  sweep  street  crossings,  that  the 
sweeper  would  be  so  satisfied  with  his  Heav- 
enly Father's  will  that  he  would  not  ex- 
change places  with  the  ruler. 

The  purpose  of  Jesus  is  to  save  the  world 
and  uphold  the  honor  of  God,  and  establish 
truth  in  the  lives,  the  hearts,  the  laws,  the 
customs  of  men,  and  this  is  the  purpose  of 
this  man. 

In  order  to  do  this  Jesus  sacrificed  every 
earthly  prospect,  and  laid  down  His  life,  and 


102  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

this  man  does  the  same.  He  doesn't  stand 
in  the  presence  of  the  world's  great,  crying 
need  and  hesitate  and  wonder  if  the  Lord 
really  wants  him  to  give  a  few  cents  or  dol- 
lars for  the  salvation  of  the  heathen ;  he 
doesn't  quibble  as  to  whether  'God  really  re- 
quires him  to  make  the  sacrifice  and  leave 
his  dog-kennel  and  chicken-coop  and  barn 
and  house  furnished  a  little  below  the  stan- 
dard of  beauty  and  luxury  set  by  his  un- 
godly neighbors ;  he  doesn't  struggle  and  kick 
against  the  pricks  when  he  feels  God  would 
have  him  forsake  business  and  preach  the 
Gospel.  He  would  loathe  himself  to  have 
such  mean  thoughts.  He  doesn't  say :  "If 
I  were  rich."  but  out  of  the  abundance  of 
his  poverty  he  pours  into  the  lap  of  the 
world's  needs,  and,  like  the  widow,  he  gladly 
gives  all  his  living  to  save  the  world ;  and 
when  God  looks  about  for  a  man  to  stand 
up  for  His  honor  and  warn  a  wicked  world 
and  offer  terms  of  peace  to  sinners,  this  man 
doesn't  say,  "If  I  were  only  educated  or 
gifted  I  would  go,"  but  with  a  heart  flaming 
with  love  for  Jesus  and  the  world  He  has 
bought  with  His  Blood,  cries  out,  "Here  am 
I,  send  me."  It  can  be  said  of  him  as  it  was 
of  his  Lord,  "The  zeal  of  Thine  house  has 
eaten  me  up." 

iA  young  carpenter  in  New  England,  whose 
name  is  unknown,  every  few  months  comes 
to  the  divisional  headquarter.,,  and  gives  a 
•hundred  or  more  dollars  for  the  work  of 
God  in  India,  or  some  other  portion  of  the 
world.  He  is  one  with  Jesus  in  His  purpose 


UNI»N   WITH   JESUS.  103 

to  save  the  world.  On  a  bitter  wintry  day 
a  poor  woman  came  to  John  Wesley's  apart- 
ment in  Oxford  University.  She  was  shiver- 
ing with  cold.  Wesley  asked  her  why  she 
did  not  dress  more  warmly.  She  replied 
that  she  had  no  warmer  garments.  When 
she  was  gone,  Wesley  looked  at  the  pictures 
on  his  walls,  and  said  to  himself  in  sub- 
stance, "If  my  Lord  should  come,  would  He 
be  pleased  to  see  these  on  my  walls  when 
His  poor  are  suffering  with  cold?"  Then 
he  sold  the  pictures  and  gave  to  the  poor. 
And  in  this  way  began  that  mighty  and  life- 
long beneficence  and  almost  matchless  self- 
sacrifice  that  has  led  to  the  blessing  of  mil- 
lions upon  millions  of  men. 

O  my  God,  that  Thy  people  might  see 
what  union  with  Thee  really  means ! 

Do  you  ask,  "How  can  I  enter  into  this 
union?" 

1.  Read  God's  promises  until  you  see  that 
it   is   possible.     Especially  read   and  ponder 
over  the  fifteenth  and  seventeenth  chapters  of 
St.  John. 

2.  Read   and   ponder   over  the   command- 
ments   until    you    see    that    it    is    necessary. 
Without  this   union   here  there   will   be  no 
union  in  eternity. 

3.  Make  the  sacrifice  that  is  necessary  fn 
order  to  become  one  with  Jesus. 

The  woman  who  will  be  the  true  wife  of 
a  man  must  be  prepared  to  give  up  all  other 
lovers,  leave  her  home,  and  forsake  father, 


104  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

mother,  brothers  and  sisters,  change  her 
name,  and  utterly  identify  herself,  her  pros- 
pects for  life,  her  all,  with  the  man  she  loves. 
And  so  must  you  be  prepared  to  identify 
yourself  utterly  with  Christ,  to  be  hated, 
despised,  rejected,  crucified  of  men;  but 
armed,  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
crowned  of  God. 

Does  your  heart  consent  to  this,  my 
brother?  If  so,  make  a  perpetual  covenant 
with  your  Lord  just  ^ow.  Do  it  intelli- 
gently. Do  it  with  a  true  heart,  in  full  as- 
surance of  faith,  and  God  will  seal  you  for 
His  own.  Do  not  waver.  Do  not  doubt. 
Do  not  cast  away  your  confidence  because 
of  your  feelings  or  lack  of  feelings,  but 
stand  by  your  facts;  walk  by  faith,  and  God 
will  soon  prove  His  ownership  in  you  in  a 
way  that  will  be  altogether  satisfactory  to 
both  your  head  and  your  heart,  and  con- 
vincing to  men  and  devils. 


What  Is  meant  by  "saved  from  self"  as  it  is 
sung  of  and  testified  to  in  The  Salvation  Army? 

Answer:    (1.)      It  does  not  mean  the  destruc- 
tion of  our  "will,  but  the  complete  union  of  our 


UNION   WITH   JESUS.  105 

•will  with  the  will  of  God,  so  that  we  may  say* 
with  Jesus :  "Not  my  will,  but  Thine  be  done," 
and  "Lo,  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God." 

(2.)  It  means  that  we  seek  not  selfish  ends 
and  that  we  even  lay  down  our  rights  and  our 
lives  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of 
men.  "Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  God  be- 
cause He  laid  down  His  life  for  us,  and  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren." 
(1  John  3:  16.)  "He  that  loveth  Oils  life  shall 
lose  it,  and  he  that  hateth  bis  life  in  this  world 
shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal."  (John  12:  25.) 
"Then  said  Jesus  unto  His  disciples :  If  any 
man  will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself 
and  take  up  "his  cross  and  follow  Me.  For  who- 
soever will  save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  who- 
eoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  My  sake  shall  find 
it"  (Matt.  16:  24,  25.) 


106  HEART  TALKS   ON    HOLINESS, 


XIV. 


IN    GOD'S    SCHOOL. 

Man  is  the  supreme  product  of  this  world, 
and  the  struggle  with  adversity  and  evil 
forces  is  a  part  of  'God's  plan  of  developing 
him  for  mansions  and  thrones  and  crowns 
and  kingdoms  in  the  world  to  come.  There- 
fore we  must  believe  and  hope  and  love  and 
struggle  on.  "In  due  time  we  shall  reap,  if 
we  faint  not."  We  must  beware  of  dis- 
couragement and  from  running  away  from 
the  conflict.  If  we  flee,  we  shall  perish  for- 
ever. If  we  fight  to  the  finish,  "we  shall 
conquer  though  we  die." 

Nothing  can  come  to  us  that  God  does 
not  permit,  and  which  by  His  grace  cannot 
be  made  to  work  out  our  higher  good.  God 
wants  to  build  us  up  in  holy  character,  but 
holy  character  is  for  eternity  and  is  many- 
sided,  and  therefore  must  be  subjected  to 
manifold  testings.  We  must  be  taught  by 
both  pain  and  pleasure;  we  must  learn  how 
to  abound  and  suffer  need.  And  in  this 


IN    GOD'S     SCHOOL.  107 

we  shall  be  plunged  often  from  the  heights 
to  the  depths,  and  hurled  from  the  depths 
to  the  heights  again. 

To-day  the  sun  shines  and  the  world  is 
full  of  beauty,  and  life  seems  a  holiday,  but 
to-morrow  the  storm-clouds  lower  and  the 
beauty  is  hid,  and  we  are  prone  to  fear  that 
the  sun  will  shine  no  more.  To-day  men 
look  upon  us  and  smile  and  shout  "Ho- 
sanna !"  but  to-morrow  they  frown  and  gnash 
their  teeth  and  cry  out,  "Crucify  him  !"  To- 
day we  have  plenty  and  can  feed  the  multi- 
tudes of  the  hungry  with  what  we  have  to 
spare;  to-morrow  we  ourselves  are  hungry 
and  know  not  where  to  turn  for  bread.  To- 
day our  pulse  is  full  and  we  feel  strong  to 
chase  a  thousand;  to-morrow  we  are  feeble 
and  broken  and  life  is  a  burden.  ,  To-day 
we  pray  and  God  hears  us  before;'  we  call, 
and  answers  while  we  are  yet  speaking;  to- 
morrow we  plead  and  weep  and  moan  and 
the  heavens  seem  shut,  and  the  mocking 
tempter  whispers,  "Where  is  thy  God  now?" 

To-day  Job  is  the  richest  man  in  all  the 
East,  and  his  sons  are  the  strongest  and  his 
daughters  are  the  fairest  in  the  land;  to- 
morrow he  is  a  pauper  and  childless.  To- 
day Joseph  is  the  pet  of  his  father's  heart 
and  home ;  to-morrow  he  is  under  the  lash 
and  is  toiling  and  galled  with  the  slave  gang's 
chain.  To-day  David  weds  the  king's  daugh- 
ter; to-morrow  the  king,  with  murderous 
hate,  hurls  his  javelin  at  him  and  chases  him 
over  and  around  the  mountains  as  he  would 
a  partridge  or  a  wolf.  To-day  Daniel  sits 


108  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

next  to  the  king  in  the  midst  of  the  hundred 
and  twenty  princes  and  counselors;  to-night 
he  is  in  the  lions'  den. 

What  means  all  this  uncertainty  and  mys- 
tery of  pleasure  and  pain,  of  hope  and  de- 
spair, of  favor  and  disfavor?  Ah,  hallelu- 
jah! it  means  that  God  wants  us  for  Him- 
self. "Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  disciplin- 
eth."  It  means  that  He  sees  there  is  some- 
thing in  us  worth  His  while  to  educate,  and 
He  is  educating  us. 

A  friend  of  mine  owned  a  gold  mine.  He 
promised  the  Lord  every  penny  of  profit  front 
it.  He  made  nothing,  but  lost  $100,000  in 
that  mine.  He  went  to  the  Lord  about  it. 
The  Lord  said,  "I  am  educating  you,  and  I 
can  afford  to  spend  millions  to  do  so."  My 
friend  cried  out,  "O  Lord,  if  Thou  canst 
afford  it,  I  can,  for  Thou  knowest  I  want 
to  be  educated  in  Thy  school !" 

God  would  make  us  strong  in  faith,  mighty 
in  power,  unfailing  in  hope,  content  whatever 
our  lot,  perfect  in  love,  fearless  in  our  devo- 
tion to  truth,  lovers  of  men  and  more  than 
conquerors. 

He  would  wean  us  from  man,  in  whom 
there  is  no  help,  to  Himself;  He  would  de- 
tach us  from,  the  world  and  fasten  us  by 
every  tie  to  Heaven.  When  Job  shall  have 
learned  his  lesson,  which  is  not  for  himself 
alone,  but  for  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
sand other  perplexed  sufferers  as  well,  he 
shall  have  his  riches  doubled  and  restored 
to  him  again  with  strongest  sons  and  fairest 
daughters.  Joseph  shall  leave  the  prison  cell 


IN  GOD'S  SCHOOL.  109 

and  slave  gang's  chain  and  sit  as  a  favorite 
in  Pharaoh's  palace  and  rule  his  empire.  The 
king  shall  die  by  his  own  hand,  and  David 
shall  sit  upon  his  throne.  Daniel  shall  es- 
scape  from  the  lions'  den  and  rise  to  higher 
honor  and  esteem  than  he  knew  before.  Thus 
shall  it  be  with  the  man  who  does  not  kick 
against  the  pricks,  but  nestles  low  under 
God's  hand  and  rejoices  and  obeys  and  trusts 
and  doubts  not  while  God  educates. 

"Flowers  need  night's  cool  darkness, 

The  moonlight  and  the  dew ; 
So  Christ  from  one  who  loved  It, 

His  shining  oft  withdrew, 
And  then  for  cause  of  absence 

My  troubled  soul  I  scanned, 
But  glory  shadelesa  snineth 

In  Emmanuel's  land." 

The  secret  of  peace  and  victory  under  all 
these  circumstances  is  "a  little  more  faith  in 
Jesus." 

In  God's  school  we  learn  through  the  heart 
rather  than  through  the  head,  and  by  faith 
rather  than  logic.  "Lord,  I  believe!"  Amen! 


Holiness  is  indispensable  to  your  completest 
usefulness. 

My  comrades,  you  know  the  way  of  life  and 
the  blessedness  of  religion.  You  can  tell  some- 
thing of  the  love  of  God,  and  the  Joys  of  the 


110  HEART    TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

redeemed.  You  can  pray,  and  sing,  and  lead  out 
to  battle  the  armies  of  the  King.  What  else  Is 
•wanted  to  complete  your  qualifications  for  doing 
the  greatest  possible  amount  of  good,  but  that 
you  shall  be  able  to  say  to  your  people,  "That 
which  I  publish  as  attainable  of  personal  peace 
and  joy  and  communion  with  God — I  enjoy 
myself!  I  am  saved,  saved  inside  and  out! 
Saved  to  the  uttermost!  Saved  now  and  saved 
every  day!"  Moreover,  my  brethren,  there  is 
something  above  and  beyond  the  mighty  influence 
•which  flows  from,  and  must  ever  accompany, 
such  a  testimony  as  that  I  have  named,  and  that 
is  the  mighty  power  that  accompanies  the  life 
itself.  A  .sanctified  life  means  a  gentle,  tender 
spirit ;  it  means  a  fearless,  undaunted  zeal ;  it 
means  the  accompanying  manifestation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  is  the  prelude  and  condition 
and  assurance  of  the  enduement  of  power. — TH» 
GENERAL,  in  "Salvation  Soldiery." 


HOLINESS    AND    SELF-DENIAL.  Ill 


XV. 


HOLINESS    AND    SELF-DENIAL. 

1.  One  day  Mr.  Wesley  was  to  dine  with  a 
rich  man.  One  of  his  preachers,  who  was 
present,  said,  "Oh,  sir,  what  a  sumptuous 
dinner !  Things  are  very  different  from  what 
they  were  formerly.  There  is  but  little  self- 
denial  now  among  the  Methodists."  Mr. 
Wesley  pointed  to  the  table  and  quietly  re- 
marked, "My  brother,  there  is  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity for  self-denial." 

Denial  that  is  not  self-imposed  is  not  self- 
denial.  It  might  have  been  self-denial  on 
the  part  of  the  host  to  present  a  less  sumptu- 
ous table,  but  there  would  have  been  no  self- 
denial  on  the  part  of  the  guest.  Adverse 
circumstances  or  selfish  people  may  deprive 
us  of  the  luxuries  and  even  the  necessities 
of  life.  But  our  deprivation  would  not  be 
self-denial.  We  deny  ourselves  only  when 
we  voluntarily  give  up  that  which  we  like, 
and  which  we  might  lawfully  keep.  And  I 
have  no  doubt  that  God  often  allows  us 


112  HEART    TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

luxuries  and  abundance,  not  that  we  may 
consume  them  upon  ourselves,  but  rather 
that  we  may  deny  ourselves  joyfully  for  His 
dear  sake,  and  the  sake  of  the  needy  ones 
about  us. 

Often  when  urging  upon  well-to-do  people 
the  importance  of  denying  themselves  in 
dress  and  furniture  and  equipage  and  the 
luxuries  of  life,  I  have  had  them  turn  to  me 
and  say,  "If  God  did  not  mean  me  to  have 
these  things  and  enjoy  them,  why  did  He 
give  me  the  means  to  get  them?"  And,  poor 
things !  they  thought  they  had  crushed  me 
with  their  logic. 

But  the  answer  is  simple.  God  meant  them 
to  be  stewards,  but  they  considered  them- 
selves owners.  God  meant  them  to  have 
the  greater  blessedness  of  giving,  for  "it  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,"  but 
they  contented  themselves  with  what  they 
considered  the  blessedness  of  receiving.  God 
meant  them  to  pass  on  His  bounty  to  the 
multitudes  of  needy  ones  about  them,  but 
they  dammed  up  and  diverted  the  streams  of 
God's  mercy  and  reveled  in  what  they  con- 
sidered God's  special  favor  and  license  to 
unlimited  self-indulgence,  while  the  multi- 
tudes for  whom  God  really  intended  these 
blessings  perished  of  want.  They  show  un- 
mistakably by  their  conduct  that  they  have 
not  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  "Who  though  He 
was  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor  that 
we  through  His  poverty  might  be  rich,"  and 
on  the  Judgment  Day  they  will  surely  be 


HOLINESS    AND    SELF-DENIAL.  113 

found  wanting,  and  woful  will  be  their  con- 
demnation. 

Why  does  God  give  a  woman  wealth? 
That  she  may  spend  it  on  feathers  and  flow- 
ers, and  silks  and  satins,  and  luxurious 
apartments?  Nay;  but  that  she  may  spend 
it  upon  those  who  are  hungry  and  cold  and 
dying  of  bitter  want. 

Why  does  God  give  a  mother  brilliant, 
manly  sons  and  lovely  daughters?  That 
she  may  enjoy  their  presence  and  tram  them 
for  society  and  a  career  before  the  world? 
Nay;  but  that  she  may  train  them  to  be 
martyrs,  slum  angels,  missionaries  to  the 
heathen  and  to  the  bare-footed,  debauched, 
neglected,  devil-ridden  children  of  the  saloons 
and  brothels.  Oh,  as  I  have  looked  at  my 
sweet  baby  boy  and  girl,  and  realized  the 
almost  infinite  difference  between  their  train- 
ing and  that  of  millions  of  little  ones  who 
have  the  same  rights  in  Jesus  Christ  that  my 
children  have ;  as  I  have  realized  the  tender 
care  with  which  they  are  unceasingly  watched 
and  sheltered  and  trained  for  God  and  right- 
eousness, my  heart  has  poured  itself  out  to 
Cod  in  unutterable  longings,  not  that  they 
might  be  great,  but  that  they  might  be  good ; 
not  that  they  might  fill  the  earth  with  their 
fame,  but  that  they  might  utterly  sacrifice 
themselves  for  those  who  have  never  known 
the  love  and  instruction  of  a  sainted  mother 
and  a  Christian  home ! 

Why  does  God  give  a  man  power  and 
influence  and  fame?  That  he  may  be  great 
in  the  eyes  of  men  and  lord  it  over  his 


114  HEART   TALKS  ON    HOLINESS. 

fellows  and  clothe  himself  in  purple  and 
"fine  linen  and  live  luxuriously?  Nay;  but 
that  he  may  throw  every  jot  and  tittle  of 
his  power  and  influence  into  the  scale  for 
righteousness  of  conduct  and  holiness  of 
character  and  hasten  the  utter  establishment 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  upon  earth. 

Self-denial  almost  ceases  to  be  self-denial 
when  practised  from  such  a  high  and  holy 
motive.  It  is  the  denial  of  the  lower,  base, 
earthly  life,  and  the  gratification  of  the 
higher  and  heavenly  self.  It  is  a  turning 
from  earth  to  Heaven;  from  that  which  is 
fleeting  and  temporal  to  that  which  is  eter- 
nal. It  enlightens  the  mind,  ennobles  the 
character,  perfects  the  heart  and  brings  us 
into  fellowship  with  Jesus.  Bless  God ! 
Hallelujah! 

"If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,  let  him 
deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  daily  and 
follow  Me." 

2.  I  once  read  an  illustration  of  Mr.  Fin- 
ney's  that  has  had  a  marked  influence  on  my 
life.  In  substance,  it  was  this :  "Suppose 
a  man  were  traveling  in  a  foreign  land,  and, 
being  waylaid  and  captured  by  brigands,  he 
were  sold  into  slavery,  and  a  great  ransom 
demanded  for  his  release.  At  last,  word 
reaches  his  anxious  wife,  informing  her  of 
his  sad  state,  and  the  only  condition  upon 
which  he  could  possibly  be  restored  to  her. 
His  bondage  is  cruel,  and  is  fast  wearing 
his  life  away,  but  there  is  no  way  of  escape 
except  the  ransom  be  paid. 


HOLINESS    AND    SELF-DENIAL.  115 

"All  the  love  and  affection  and  pity  and 
sympathy  of  the  wife's  heart  are  roused  to 
the  uttermost.  She  fears  for  her  loved  one's 
life,  she  can  feel  the  galling  chain,  she  can 
see  the  cruel  lash  of  the  slave-driver,  she  can 
realize  the  heart-loneliness  and  bitter  bond- 
age of  her  darling,  and  she  wishes  she  could 
fly  to  his  side  and  share  his  burden  and  his 
sorrow,  and  no  sacrifice  seems  too  great  to 
gain  his  liberty.  She  sells  all  her  property, 
she  lays  her  case  before  her  friends  and 
neighbors,  and  they  assist  her,  and  yet  she 
falls  far  below  the  amount  of  the  ransom 
demanded.  She  labors  and  toils  early  and 
late,  and  hastens  to  earn  what  money  she 
can  to  add  to  what  she  already  has;  she 
denies  herself  every  luxury,  and  almost  be- 
grudges every  necessity  of  life.  She  thinks 
of  the  hard  fare  of  her  husband,  the  coarse, 
scanty  food,  the  miserable  hovel,  the  hard, 
filthy  bed,  the  heavy,  unremitting  labor; 
and  the  thought  of  selfish  gratification  is 
painful  to  her.  At  last,  a  stranger  hears 
her  sad  story,  visits  her,  and  gives  her  $100. 
She  does  not  for  an  instant  think:  'Now  I 
shall  be  able  to  get  me  a  new  dress  and 
bonnet  in  the  latest  fashion,  or  get  a  nice 
piece  of  furniture  for  my  rooms,  or  furnish 
my  table  better  than  in  the  past.'  No,  no. 
She  bursts  into  tears.  She  thanks  the  giver, 
and  she  cries :  'Now  I  shall  be  able  to  ran- 
som my  love,  and  soon  I  shall  have  him  in 
my  arms  again.' " 

Now,  when  the  Christian  whose  heart 
throbs  with  love  for  the  Saviour  realizes 


116  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

that  Jesus  puts  Himself  in  the  place  of  the 
prisoner  in  his  lonely,  dark  cell ;  the  slave 
toiling  without  recompense  under  the  lash, 
with  the  galling,  clanking  chain ;  the  sick 
one,  on  the  bed  of  sleeplessness  and  pain ; 
the  heathen,  in  his  blindness  and  ignorance 
and  superstition  and  fear;  the  helpless  or- 
phan, and  the  poor  widow,  and  the  outcast 
sinner,  and  says,  "Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  ye  did  it  unto 
Me,"  he  must  deny  himself. 

When  he  sees  Jesus,  lonely  and  fall  of  toil 
and  sorrow,  again,  in  the  person  of  these 
suffering  ones,  he  finds  it  easier  to  deny 
himself  than  to  indulge  himself,  and  self- 
sacrifice  becomes  a  joy,  while  self-indul- 
gence becomes  a  grief  and  a  moral  im- 
possibility. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  deny  myself.  It 
is  for  Jesus,  and  the  souls  for  whom  He 
died.  For  years  I  lived  for  myself.  All 
my  hopes  and  ambitions  centred  in  myself; 
even  my  desire  to  go  to  heaven  was  more 
a  desire  to  escape  from  the  pains  of  hell 
than  to  enjoy  the  society  of  Jesus  and  re- 
deemed souls  and  to  do  good  and  be  holy. 

But  at  last  all  this  was  changed.  My  sins 
became  a  burden.  I  loathed  myself.  The 
righteous  indignation  and  wrath  of  God 
against  evil-doers  took  hold  upon  me,  and 
I  feared  I  should  be  lost  forever.  But  I 
found  deliverance  through  Jesus;  through 
Him  I  found  forgiveness  of  sins  and  free- 
dom from  the  bondage  of  selfishness.  He 
did  not  upbraid  me,  but  loved  me  freely,  and 


HOLINESS    AND    SELF-DENIAL.  117 

won  my  heart  and  filled  me  with  confidence 
and  love  toward  Him  that  were  unutterable 
With  that  love  to  Him  came  a  love  for 
the  whole  world  of  saints  and  sinners.  At 
first  I  groped  about  somewhat  blindly  to 
know  how  to  express  that  love,  but  true 
love  will  always  finally  express  itself  in 
uttermost  self-sacrifice  for  its  object,  and 
in  doing  so  adds  fuel  to  its  flame.  Since 
then,  I  have  found  it  easier  to  give  than 
to  withhold.  I  began  by  giving  one-tenth 
of  my  income,  but  I  couldn't  stop  there. 
Any  case  of  need,  any  appeal  for  help, 
receives  prompt  attention,  until,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  foresight  of  a  prudent  wife, 
who  gets  me  to  lay  up  money  with  her 
for  a  needed  suit,  I  should  frequently  be 
without  suitable  clothes  to  wear. 

This  is  not  natural.  It  is  spiritual — 
supernatural.  In  the  old  days  when  I  had 
plenty  of  money,  I  can  remember  that  it 
was  rather  grudgingly  that  I  subscribed 
two  dollars  a  year  to  the  support  of  the 
Gospel.  I  should  be  decidedly  ashamed  to 
tell  this,  but  for  the  fact  that  I  am  now 
"a  new  creature," .  and  an  honest  confession 
is  good  for  the  soul. 

How  can  I  indulge  myself  while  others 
suffer?  How  can  I  hoard  up  wealth  and 
this  world's  goods  while  others  perish  of 
want?  Why  can  I  not  trust  Him  to  supply 
my  wants,  who  feeds  the  sparrows  witli 
unfailing  supply?  Why  did  He  speak  so,  ii 
it  was  not  to  encourage  one  to  cast  abroad 


118  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

with   an  open,  liberal   hand  and  trust  Him 
for   daily    bread  ? 

I  want  the  "full  strength  of  trust  to 
prove,"  and  how  can  I  have  such  trust  if 
I  never  once  in  my  life  give  away  all  I  have, 
and  boldly  trust  Him  to  supply  my  need 
and  confound  a  taunting  devil?  I  have 
done  it.  Glory  to  God!  And  He  has  not 
failed  me.  Instead  of  finding  my  feet  on 
quicksands,  I  found  them  on  granite,  and 
instead  of  starvation,  I  found  plenty.  Bless 
God  forever !  Oh,  there  is  a  divine  phil- 
osophy in  self-denial  that  the  wise  folks  of 
this  world  never  dream  of! 


SPIRITUAL    POWER.  119 


XVI. 


SPIRITUAL    POWER. 

God  is  the  source  of  all  spiritual  power, 
and  should  be  sought  for  constantly  in  two 
ways — by  meditation  in  His  Word,  and  by 
secret  prayer — if  we  would  have  and  retain 
power. 

Several  years  ago  I  was  "specialing"  at 
a  New  England  corps,  commanded  by  a 
rather  gifted  Ensign.  He  appeared  to  be 
much  impressed  by  my  familiarity  with  and 
use  of  the  Bible,  and  one  day  remarked  that 
he  would  be  willing  to  give  a  fortune,  if 
he  had  it,  for  an  equal  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures.  He  was  much  taken  back  when 
I  assured  him  that  he  was  quite  mistaken 
as  to  the  strength  of  his  desire,  for  if  he 
really  wanted  to  get  acquainted  with  his 
Bible,  he  could  easily  do  so  by  spending 
the  hour  and  more  that  he  gave  to  the 


120  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

newspapers    each    day,    in    prayerful    study 
of  'God's  Word. 

Men  are  everywhere  crying  and  sighing 
for  power  and  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit, 
but  neglecting  the  means  by  which  this 
power  and  fulness  are  secured. 

The  saintly  Fletcher  said :  "An  eager 
attention  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  made  me  in  some  degree  overlook 
the  medium  by  which  that  Spirit  works ;  I 
mean  the  word  of  truth,  by  which  that 
heavenly  fire  warms  us.  I  rather  expected 
lightning,  than  a  steady  fire  by  means  of 
fuel." 

•Glad,  believing,  secret  prayer,  and  patient, 
constant  meditation  in  the  Word  of  God 
will  keep  the  sanctified  man  full  of 
power,  full  of  love  and  faith,  and  full 
of  God. 

But  neglect  of  these  results  in  spiritual 
weakness  and  dryness,  joyless  labor  and 
fruitless  toil;  and,  unless  remedy  is  found, 
spiritual  death  will  surely,  if  not  swiftly, 
follow.  If  any  reader  of  this  has  lost  the 
power  and  juice  and  sweetness  of  his  ex- 
perience through  neglect  of  these  simple 
means,  he  will  not  receive  the  blessing  back 
again  by  working  himself  up  into  a  frenzy 
of  agony  in  prayer,  but  rather  by  quieting 
himself  and  talking  plainly  to  God  about 
it,  and  then  hearkening  diligently  to  what 
God  says  in  His  Word  and  by  His  Spirit. 
Then  peace  and  power  will  soon  return, 


SPIRITUAL    POWER.  121 

and  need  never  be  lost  any  more.     Hallelu- 
jah! 

Most  people  give  to  their  bodies  about  ten 
hours  a  day  in  eating,  drinking  and  dress- 
ing and  sleeping,  and  maybe  a  few  minutes 
to  their  souls.  We  ought  to  give  at  least  one 
solid  hour  every  day  to  restful,  loving  devo- 
tion with  Jesus  over  our  open  Bible,  for  the 
refreshing,  developing  and  strengthening  of 
our  spiritual  life.  If  we  would  do  this,  God 
would  have  an  opportunity  to  teach,  correct, 
inspire  and  comfort  us,  reveal  His  secrets 
to  us,  and  make  spiritual  giants  of  us.  If 
we  will  not  do  this  we  shall  surely  be 
spiritual  weaklings  all  our  days,  however 
we  may  wish  to  be  strong. 

The  devil  will  rob  us  of  this  hour  if  we 
do  not  steadfastly  fight  for  it.  He  will 
say,  "Go  and  work,"  before  we  have  got- 
ten the  spiritual  food  that  strengthens  us 
for  work.  The  devil's  piety  and  eager  inter- 
est in  God's  work  is  amazing  when  he  sees 
a  soul  upon  its  knees !  It  is  then  that  he 
transforms  himself  into  an  angel  of  light, 
and  woe  be  to  the  soul  that  is  deceived  by 
him  at  this  point ! 

I  do  thank  God  that,  for  many  years, 
as  a  field  officer,  a  divisional  officer,  and 
a  spiritual  special,  He  has  helped  me  to 
resist  the  devil  at  this  point,  and  to  take 
time  with  Him  until  my  soul  has  been 
filled  with  his  glory  and  strength,  and 
made  triumphant  over  all  the  power  of  the 
enemy.  Glory  to  God ! 


122  HEART  TALKS    ON     HOLINESS. 

"And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to 
God,  and  to  the  word  of  His  grace,  which  is 
able  to  build  you  up  and  to  give  you  an 
inheritance  among  all  them  that  are  sanc- 
tified." (Acts  20:  32.) 


JESUS — THE   WORKINGMAN.  123 


XVII. 


JESUS — THE   WORKINGMAN. 

Peter  the  Great,  Czar  of  all  Russia,  and 
in  some  respects  the  mightiest  monarch  of 
his  day,  used  to  make  shoes  like  a  common 
cobbler,  that  he  might  enter  into  sympathy 
with  his  people  and  help  them  to  realize  that 
labor  is  not  menial,  but  honorable  and  full 
of  dignity.  It  was  a  great  stoop  from  the 
throne  of  Russia  to  a  cobbler's  bench,  but 
I  will  tell  you  of  a  greater. 

The  Apostle  tells  us,  in  Hebrews  1 :  2, 
that  God  made  the  worlds  by  His  Son,  and 
that  the  Son  "upholds  all  things  by  the 
word  of  His  power." 

John  tells  us,  in  the  first  chapter  of  his 
gospel  that  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God.  All  things  were  made 
by  Him,  and  without  Him  was  not  anything 
made  that  was  made."  He  is  the  Master 
Workman  whom  the  Heaven  of  heavens 


124  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

cannot  contain,  inhabiting  eternity  (Isaiah 
57:  15),  stretching  forth  the  heavens  as  a 
curtain,  making  mighty  systems  of  sun, 
moon  and  stars,  creating  worlds  and  hurl- 
ing them  into  the  awful  abysses  of  space 
and  causing  them  to  move,  not  in  chaotic 
confusion,  but  in  more  than  clock-like  har- 
mony, by  the  silent,  resistless  energy  of  all- 
embracing  laws. 

He  scoops  out  the  bed  of  the  mighty 
oceans.  He  tosses  aloft  hoary  mountains 
and  stretches  forth  vast  prairies  and  sandy 
deserts.  He  peoples  the  world  with  living 
creatures,  until  the  imagination  is  almost 
paralyzed  by  the  contemplation  of  His  handi- 
work. He  is  Maker  of  the  infinitely  great 
and  the  infinitely  small.  He  made  the  fixed 
star  billions  of  miles  away  and  millions  of 
times  bigger  than  the  earth  on  which  we 
live,  and  He  made  the  tiny  insect  so  small 
that  it  can  only  be  seen  by  the  aid  of  the 
microscope,  and  He  fitted  that  little  mite 
with  its  perfect  organs  of  digestion,  respir- 
ation and  reproduction. 

He  garnished  the  heavens  and  stretches 
forth  the  rainbow,  and  He  painted  the 
insect's  wings  and  polished  the  lens  of  its 
littlejjfeye.  Oh,  He  is  a  wondrous  workman! 

But  John  tells  us  "The  Word  was  made 
flesh  and  dwelt  among  us  (and  we  beheld 
His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten 
of  the  Father)  full  of  grace  and  truth."  And 
the  Apostle  says  that  "Forasmuch  then  as 
the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and 
blood.  He  also  Himself  likewise  took  part 


JESUS — THE   WORKINGMAN.  125 

of  the  same.  For  verily  He  took  not  on 
Him  the  nature  of  angels,  but  He  took  on 
Him  the  seed  of  Abraham,  wherefore  in 
all  things  it  behooved  Him  to  be  made 
like  His  brethren." 

And  when  He  clothed  Himself  with  our 
flesh,  when  He  hid  His  dignity  under  the 
humble  garb  of  humanity,  He  did  not  come 
as  an  aristocrat,  but  He  took  a  lowly  place 
in  a  peasant's  home. 

He  alone  of  all  the  children  of  men  chose 
His  mother,  and  He  chose  one  who  was 
poor  and  humble  and  unknown  among 
men.  In  His  mighty  descent  from  the, 
bosom  of  the  Father  to  the  womb  of  the 
Virgin,  He  might  have  stopped  at  the  throne 
of  some  mighty  earthly  empire,  or  among 
the  rich  and  lordly;  but  instead  of  that  He 
went  down  past  thrones  and  palaces,  and 
was  born  in  a  stable  in  a  manger  among 
the  cattle,  that  He  might  not  be  other  than 
the  lowliest  of  His  brethren.  He  came  to 
a  life  of  obscurity,  of  poverty  and  of  toil, 
and  He,  who  made  the  worlds  and  upheld 
them  by  the  word  of  His  power,  learned  to 
be  a  carpenter. 

The  artists,  when  they  paint  a  picture  of 
Jesus,  paint  a  face  of  almost  womanly  soft- 
ness, and  would  picture  Him  to  us  as  a 
delicate  man,  with  hair  parted  in  the  middle 
and  with  patrician  hands  and  tapering 
fingers;  but  the  Bible  rather  pictures  Him 
to  us  a  horny-handed  man  of  toil,  whose 
back  was  bent  to  labor,  and  who  earned 
His  bread  by  the  sweat  of  His  brow.  Bless 


126  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Him !  Indeed,  "He  was  made  like  unto 
His  brethren."  He  became  brother  to  the 
humblest  son  of  toil,  and  since  He  has  been 
a  workingman,  He  has  put  a  dignity  on 
labor  that  exceeds  the  dignity  of  kings  and 
queens. 

Jesus  was  a  workingman,  and  as  such 
understands  workingmen.  He  knows  their 
weakness,  He  has  been  pinched  with  their 
poverty,  He  can  sympathize  with  them  in 
their  long  hours  of  toil  that  bars  them 
from  that  culture  of  minrl  wh'Hi,  no  doubt, 
they  crave.  He  understands.  But  while  He 
suffered  and  toiled  and  was  tempted  and  tried 
as  His  brethren,  and  was  debarred  from  the 
luxuries  of  wealth  and  the  culture  of  schools, 
yet  He  was  not  debarred  from  culture  of  the 
heart  and  fellowship  with  His  Father.  He 
could  be  pure,  He  could  be  holy,  He  could 
be  loving  and  patient  and  kind  and  true, 
and  He  did  this,  dying  for  us  that  we  might 
escape  from  our  sins  and  become  men  after 
the  pattern  of  Himself.  We  may  not  be 
great,  but  we  may  Jbe  good.  We  may  not 
be  able  to  erect  a  Brooklyn  Bridge,  or  "build 
a  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  but  we  can  do  our 
little  task  well  and  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus. 
We  can  be  kind  and  patient,  and  faithful 
and  true.  We  can  become  partakers^  of  His 
Spirit,  and  do  our  work  as  unto  Him,  and 
by  and  by  we  shall  enter  into  His  glory, 
and  we  shall  not  be  rewarded  for  the  great- 
ness of  the  work  we  have  done,  but  rather 
for  the  faithfulness  with  which  we  have 
done  it.  The  carpenter  who  has  built 


JESUS — THE    WORKINGMAN. 


127 


houses ;  the  blacksmith  who  has  shod 
horses ;  the  man  who  has  carried  a  hod ;  the 
boy  who  has  blacked  boots ;  the  clerk  who 
has  toiled  over  the  ledger;  the  farmer 
who  has  ploughed  the  fields  and  fed 
cattle,  if  he  has  done  it  faithfully,  with 
his  heart  washed  in  the  Blood  and  full 
of  love  for  the  Master  and  his  fellow 
men,  in  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  thanks- 
giving, shall  have  as  abundant  an  en- 
trance into  the  everlasting  Kingdom  of 
Jesus  the  Carpenter,  and  shall  have  a  place 
as  near  the  throne  as  the  man  who  preached 
the  Gospel  to  thousands,  or  governed  states 
and  ruled  kingdoms. 


" 


128  HEAKT  TALKS   ON    HOLINESS, 


XVIII. 


THE    LEGACY    OF    HOLINESS. 

"A^ter  the  death  of  Abraham,  God  blessed  his 
ion  Isaac."  (Gen.  25:  11.) 

We  must  die !  We  feel  that  we  must  live 
for  the  sake  of  our  sons,  for  the  people 
of  God  whom  we  love  as  our  own  souls, 
and  for  the  perishing  sinners  about  us.  We 
are  prone  to  magnify  our  own  importance, 
to  think  no  one's  faith  is  so  mighty,  no 
one's  industry  is  quite  so  fruitful,  no  one's 
love  quite  so  unfailing,  no  one's  presence 
quite  so  necessary  as  ours.  But  after  we 
die  the  blessed  -God  will  still  live ;  His  years 
fail  not,  and  He  will  bless  our  sons  and 
carry  on  His  work.  Glory  to  God ! 

Have  faith  in  God,  brother!  Trust  the 
Lord,  sister !  He  will  bless  your  children 
after  you  are  dead. 

Be  sure  you  have  given  your  children  to 
God — given  them  not  in  order  that  they  may 
be  saved  from  hell,  but  that  they  may  be 


THE    LEGACY    OF    HOLINESS.  129 

saved  from  sin,  from  enmity  to  God,  from 
pride  and  worldliness  and  selfishness  and 
unbelief,  saved  that  they  may  be  saviours 
of  others,  and  God  will  bless  them  when 
you  are  dead. 

Do  not  choose  ease  and  wealth  and  worldly 
power  and  fame  for  your  children,  but  rather 
choose  the  lowly  way  of  the  Cross.  Jesus 
was  a  Man  of  Sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief.  He  was  despised  and  rejected  of 
men.  Ask  the  Lord  with  all  your  heart 
to  make  your  children  like  the  Master, 
and  to  lead  them  in  the  paths  He  trod,  and 
when  you  are  dead  God  will  remember  your 
prayers  and  bless  them. 

Some  years  ago  I  was  talking  with  a 
young  lady  whom  God  marvelously  blessed 
and  used  in  His  work.  Each  of  us  had  lost 
both  of  our  parents  when  we  were  quite 
young.  They  were  godly  parents  who  had 
given  us  to  the  Lord,  and  then,  when  it 
seemed  we  most  needed  their  counsel  and 
discipline,  they  died.  But  God  took  us  up 
and  blessed  us.  And  as  we  talked  about 
the  past  we  could  see  the  hand  of  God, 
through  corrections  and  faithful  fatherly 
chastenings,  shaping  our  whole  lives,  and 
bringing  blessings  out  of  what  seemed  the 
greatest  calamities,  until  we  were  lost  in 
wonder  at  His  wisdom  and  goodness,  and 
our  mouths  were  filled  with  praise. 

If  our  parents  could  have  foreseen  how 
'God  would  tenderly  care  for  us  and  bless 
us,  how  it  would  have  softened  their  dying 
pillows! 


130  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Ah !  there  is  the  secret  cause  of  our 
trouble,  that  we  cannot  foresee!  The  more 
reason  then  why  we  should  trust.  "We 
walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight,"  therefore  we 
should  trust.  "Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  per- 
fect peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  Thee, 
because  he  trusteth  in  Thee.  Trust  ye  in  the 
Lord  forever;  for  in  the  Lord  Jehovah 
is  everlasting  strength." 

God  may  have  blessed  Isaac  before  the 
death  of  Abraham,  but  I  am  glad  we  are 
told  that  He  blessed  him  after  the  death 
of  Abraham.  God  has  a  memory;  He 
doesn't  forget.  God  is  faithful ;  He  breaks 
no  promises.  God  is  good ;  He  delights  to 
show  mercy  and  bestow  blessings. 

Be  faithful  yourself.  God  said  of  Abra- 
ham, "I  know  him,  that  he  will  command 
his  children  and  his  household  after  him, 
and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to 
do  justice  and  judgment,  that  the  Lord 
may  bring  upon  Abraham  that  which  He 
hath  spoken  of  him." 

Do  your  part  as  well  as  you  know  how. 
Search  the  Bible  to  know  what  God  will 
have  you  do,  and  do  it. 

Pray  for  wisdom.  "If  any  man  lack 
wisdom  let  him  ask  of  God,  and  it  shall  be 
given  him."  God  will  not  upbraid  you  for 
your  ignorance,  if  you  want  to  be  wise ; 
therefore  pray  for  wisdom. 

Pray  for  patience.  If  you  plant  corn, 
it  does  not  spring  up  the  next  morning. 
It  lies  under  the  ground  for  many  days,  and 
seems  to  perish ;  but  God's  eye  is  upon  it, 


THE  LEGACY   OF   HOLINESS.  131 

and  He  will  bless  it,  and  cause  it  to  bring 
forth  fruit.  And  so  will  it  be  with  your 
seed-sowing  in  the  hearts  of  your  children; 
but  you  must  have  patience.  Pray  for  pa- 
tience. If  you  are  patient  and  have  faith  in 
God,  and  are  not  walking  by  sight,  you  will 
continue  to  pray  in  hope,  and  to  sow  "the 
seed  which  is  the  word  of  God,"  though  it 
seems  to  be  utterly  useless.  It  is  not  useless. 
Glory  to  God !  Though  you  may  die,  yet 
after  you  are  dead,  God  will  bless  your 
Isaacs.  He  surely  will ! 


132  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 


XIX. 


THANKSGIVING. 

Enter  into  His  gates  with  thanksgiving,  and 
into  His  courts  with  praise.  Be  thankful  unto 
Him,  and  bless  His  name. — DAVID. 

In  everything  give  thanks. — PADL. 

As  lilies  of  the  valley  pour  forth  perfume, 
so  good  hearts  pour  forth  thanksgiving. 
No  mercy  is  too  small  to  provoke  it,  no 
trial  too  severe  to  restrain  it.  As  Samson 
got  honey  from  the  carcass  of  the  lion  he 
slew,  and  as  Moses  got  water  from  the 
flinty  rock,  so  the  pure  in  heart  are  pos- 
sessed of  a  sort  of  heavenly  alchemy,  a  divine 
secret  by  which  they  get  blessing  out  of  all 
things,  and  for  which  there  is  giving  of 
thanks. 

A  jubilant  old  saint  in  Boston  came  down 
to  hoary  hairs  in  deepest  poverty  and  had 
to  live  on  the  charity  of  such  friends  as  God 
raised  up,  and  He  raised  them  up.  Bless 
His  name!  He  who  fed  Elijah  in  the 


THANKSGIVING.  133 

wilderness  by  the  brook  and  in  the  poverty- 
stricken  home  of  the  desolate  widow,  found 
a  way  to  feed  His  child  in  Boston.  God  is 
not  blind,  nor  deaf,  nor  indifferent,  nor 
indigent.  He  is  not  "the  silent  God"  that 
some  people  in  their  self-conceit  and  way- 
ward unbelief  suppose.  He  knows  how  to 
be  silent,  and  how  to  hide  Himself  from 
the  proud  in  heart.  But  He  cannot  hide 
Himself  anywhere  in  His  big  universe  from 
childlike  faith  and  pure,  obedient,  long- 
suffering,  patient  love.  Hallelujah! 

This  old  saint  believed,  obeyed  and 
rejoiced  in  God,  and  He  raised  up  friends 
to  supply  her  needs.  Now,  one  day  one 
of  them  went  upstairs  with  a  dinner  for  the 
old  lady,  and  as  she  came  to  the  door,  she 
heard  a  voice  within,  and  thinking  there  was 
a  visitor  present,  and  delicately  wishing 
that  her  charity  should  not  be  a  cause  of 
embarrassment,  she  stopped  and  listened. 
It  was  the  voice  of  the  old  Christian  at  her 
table,  and  she  was  saying,  "O  Father,  I 
do  thank  Thee  with  all  my  heart  for  Jesus 
and  this  crust !" 

To  her  thankful  heart  that  crust  was  more 
than  a  feast  and  a  well-filled  cupboard  and 
a  fat  bank-account  to  him  who  has  not  a 
trustful,  thankful  spirit. 

I  heard  of  a  rich  man  the  other  day  who 
killed  himself  because  he  feared  he  might 
become  poor.  He  was  poor.  Jesus  said, 
"A  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abun- 
dance of  the  things  which  he  possesseth," 
and  no  more  does  a  man's  real  riches,  but 


134  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

rather  in  the  spirit  with  which  he  possesses 
them. 

Heaven  is  not  parceled  off  into  lots  and 
estates.  The  angels  own  nothing  and  yet 
they  possess  all  things  and  are  eternally 
rich.  And  so  with  the  true  saint  that  trusts 
God  and  loves  and  obeys  and  is  thankful. 

The  stars  in  their  courses  fight  for  him. 
He  is  now  in  harmony  with  the  elemental 
and  heavenly  forces  and  the  eternal  laws 
of  the  universe  of  God,  and  all  things  work 
together  for  his  good.  Not  a  hair  of  his 
head  falls  without  God's  notice.  Not  a 
desire  rises  in  his  heart  but  God's  great 
heart  throbs  responsive  to  fulfil  it,  for  does 
not  the  Psalmist  say,  "He  will  fulfil  the 
desires  of  them  that  fear  Him"?  Not  simply 
the  fervent  prayer,  but  the  timid,  secret 
desire  that  has  not  been  voiced  in  prayer, 
shall  be  fulfilled.  And  how  dare  God 
do  that?  Because  a  holy  fear  will  not 
allow  a  desire  that  is  not  in  harmony  with 
God's  character  and  the  interests  of  His 
Kingdom. 

Napoleon  gave  blank  checks  on  his  bank 
to  one  of  his  marshals.  One  complained  to 
the  Emperor  that  the  drafts  made  were  enor- 
mous and  should  not  be  allowed.  "Let  him 
alone ;  he  trusts  and  honors  me,  and  I  will 
trust  him,"  said  Napoleon.  God  puts  all 
things  at  the  command  of  His  saints,  and 
trusts  them  while  He  asks  them  to  trust 
Him.  Why,  then,  should  we  not  be  thank- 
ful? 

Nothing    will    keep    the    heart    so    young 


THANKSGIVING.  135 

and  banish  carking  care  so  quickly,  and 
smooth  the  wrinkles  from  the  brow  so 
certainly,  and  fill  the  life  with  such  beauty, 
and  make  one's  influence  so  fragrant  and 
gracious,  and  shed  abroad  such  peace  and 
gladness,  as  this  sweet  spirit  of  thankful- 
ness. 

This  spirit  can  and  should  be  cultivated. 
There  is  much  in  the  lot  of  each  of  us  to 
be  thankful  for.  We  should  thank  him  for 
personal  liberty,  and  for  the  measure  of 
health  we  have.  There  is  a  good  old  soul 
up  the  Hudson  who  for  thirty  years  or 
thereabout  has  been  lying  in  bed,  while  her 
bones  have  softened,  and  she  is  utterly 
helpless  and  always  in  pain,  but  she  praises 
and  praises  and  praises  God. 

We  should  thank  Him  that  we  are  not 
insane,  that  our  poor  minds  are  not  un- 
balanced and  rent  and  torn  by  horrid  night- 
mares and  dreads  and  nameless  terrors  and 
deep  despair  and  wild  and  restless  ravings. 
We  should  thank  Him  for  the  light  and 
blessings  of  civilization,  past  mercies,  pres- 
ent comforts  and  future  prospects,  food, 
with  the  appetite  to  eat  it,  and  the  power 
to  digest  it,  raiment  to  wear,  books  to  read, 
the  Church,  The  Salvation  Army,  the  open 
Bible,  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Fountain  opened  for  sin  and  uncleanness, 
the  glorious  possibility  of  escape  from  the 
penalty  and  the  power,  the  consequences  and 
the  character  of  sin,  for  home  and  friends, 
and  heaven  bending  over  all,  with  God's 
sweet  invitation,  "Come !"  Truly  we  have 


136  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

much  to  thank  God  for,  but  if  we  would  be 
thankful,  we  must  set  our  hearts  to  do  it 
with  a  will.  We  grumble  and  complain 
without  thought,  but  we  must  think  to  give 
thanks.  To  murmur  and  repine  is  natural, 
to  give  thanks — to  really  give  thanks — is 
supernatural,  is  gracious,  is  a  spirit  not 
earth-born,  but  comes  down  from  God  out 
of  heaven,  and  yet,  like  all  things  from 
God,  it  can  be  cultivated. 

David  said,  "I  will  praise  Thee."  He  put 
his  will  into  it.  Daniel  "prayed  and  gave 
thanks"  three  times  a  day.  David  outdid 
Daniel,  for  he  says,  "Seven  times  a  day  do 
I  praise  Thee." 

Know  this,  that  if  you  are  not  thankful 
your  heart  is  yet  bad,  your  soul  unclean, 
for  good  hearts  and  pure  souls  are  thankful. 
So  go  to  the  root  of  the  matter  and  get 
rid  of  sin  and  get  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Flee  to  Jesus  for  riddance  from  the  unholy 
spirit,  and  the  subtle  selfishness  that  pos- 
sesses you. 

People  who  live  in  the  midst  of  foul  odors 
and  harsh  sounds  cease  to  smell  and  hear 
them,  but  if  for  a  while  they  could  slip 
away  to  the  sweet  air  and  holy  quiet  of  the 
woods  and  fields,  and  then  return  to  their 
noxious  and  noisy  homes,  their  quickened 
senses  would  be  shocked  by  the  noisome 
surroundings.  And  so  selfish  people  often 
live  in  themselves  so  long  that  they  do  not 
realize  their  selfishness  and  sin,  except  as 
light  from  heaven  falls  upon  them.  But 
when  God's  sweet  breath  blows  over  them 


THANKSGIVING.  137 

and  His  light  shines  into  them,  then  they 
are  amazed  at  themselves.  When  some 
humble  saint,  full  of  faith  and  joy  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  crosses  their  path,  if  they  will 
but  look,  they  may  see  themselves  as  in  a 
glass.  But  especially  is  this  so  when  we 
look  at  Jesus ;  and  if  we  continue,  the  look 
v/ill  transform  us.  It  is  of  this  that  the 
Apostle  speaks  when  he  says,  "We  all  with 
open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  are  changed  into  the  same  image 
from  glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord.''  And  when  this  change  has  taken 
place  the  joy  of  Jesus  will  be  poured  into 
the  heart,  and  praise  will  well  up  and  bubble 
forth  in  thanksgiving  as  an  unfailing  foun- 
tain of  sweet  waters,  filling  it  with  joy,  and 
earth,  your  little  corner  of  earth,  with  peace, 
and  gladdening  all  who  see  and  hear.  But 
if  that  change  has  not  fully  taken  place  in 
you,  do  not  withhold  the  praise  that  is 
God's  due,  but  think  of  His  loving  kindness 
and  tender  and  multiplied  mercies,  and  begin 
to  thank  Him  now,  and  your  very  giving  of 
thanks  will  help  to  hasten  the  change. 
Begin  now  !  Praise  the  Lord  ! 


138  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

How  must  we  try  the  spirits? 

Answer:  (1.)  Every  spirit  that  leads  you  to 
trust  in  Jesus  fully  and  only,  and  look  upon 
Him  as  all-sufficient  to  save  and  to  keep  for 
ever,  Is  of  God.  Every  spirit  that  leads  you  to 
joyfully  confess  and  follow  Him  as  your  Lord 
and  Saviour,  even  though  it  be  in  the  face  of 
the  whole  world  and  unto  death,  is  of  God. 
Every  spirit  that  fills  with  more  love  to  God 
and  man  is  of  God. 

(2.)  Pray  to  God  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  can 
reveal  to  you  every  unholy  spirit.  It  is  one  of 
<the  offices  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  guide  us  Into 
all  truth.  "The  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy 
Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  My  name, 
'He  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all 
things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have 
said  unto  you."  (John  14:  26.)  "When  He,  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come.  He  shall  guide  you  into 
all  truth."  (John  16:  13.) 

(3.)  Go  to  the  Bible  and  seek  for  truth  there. 
"And  when  they  shall  say  unto  you,  Seek  them 
that  have  familiar  spirits,  and  unto  wizards  that 
peep  and  mutter;  should  not  a  people  seek  unto 
their  God?  Should  the  living  seek  unto  the  dead? 
To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony;"  (that  is  to 
the  Bible)  "If  they  speak  not  according  to  this 
word,  it  Is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them." 
(Isaiah  8:  19,  20.) 

(4.)  "Quench  not  the  Spirit.  Prove  all  things; 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good.  Abstain  from  every 
appearance  of  evil."  (1  Thess.  5:  16-23.) 

(5.)   Walt  upon  God. 

(6.)  Don't  get  in  a  hurry,  and  don't  do  a 
doubtful  thing. 


DON'T  FLINCH.  139 


XX. 


DON'T  FLINCH. 

The  other  evening  I  asked  a  Captain  for 
the  story  of  her  conversion.  She  told  me 
that  a  few  lines  in  a  little  book  showed  her 
the  way  to  Jesus.  She  saw  through  these 
lines  that  if  she  would  ask  God  to  save 
her  and  would  "not  flinch"  in  her  faith,  He 
would  do  it.  So  she  prayed,  and  then 
waited  for  Jesus  to  come.  She  was  very 
dark.  She  lived  in  a  country  that  was  full 
of  spiritual  darkness,  and  there  was  no  one 
to  teach  her,  and  in  her  ignorance  she  thought 
Jesus  would  come  in  bodily  presence,  so 
she  put  her  room  in  order  and  earnestly 
waited  and  watched  for  Him  to  open  the 
door  and  come  in.  But  He  did  not  come. 

Then  she  remembered  that  God  had 
promised  to  answer  the  prayers  of  two  or 
three ;  so  she  wrote  a  note  to  a  minister  to 
come  and  pray  with  her.  But  something 
seemed  to  whisper  to  her  that  this  was  doubt- 
ing God,  that  she  was  trusting  the  minister's 


140  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

prayer  and  not  the  Lord,  and  this  was  doubt. 
So  she  tore  the  note  up,  and,  looking  to  God, 
without  flinching  she  trusted,  when  suddenly 
Jesus  came,  not  in  bodily  presence,  but  in 
Spirit,  and  her  whole  soul  was  flooded  with 
light  and  love  and  the  glory  of  God.  Bless 
the  Lord  forever ! 

Now,  I  fully  believe  that  it  is  just  at  this 
point  that  many  souls  draw  back  and  fail. 
They  flinch  at  the  final  test  of  faith.  Just 
when  all  is  on  the  altar  and  there  is  not  one 
thing  more  to  do  but  to  stand  still  and  see 
God  come,  "an  evil  heart  of  unbelief"  draws 
back,  or  Satan  comes  suggesting  something 
more  to  do,  and  the  soul,  dropping  its  eyes 
from  the  bending  heavens,  gets  into  the  end- 
less treadmill  of  endeavor  to  either  help 
itself  or  get  somebody  to  help  it,  and  so 
misses  the  prize  and  never  finds  God,  or 
rather  never  gives  God  a  chance  to  show 
forth  His  saving  power,  and  make  His  pres- 
ence known. 

While  faith  stands  waiting  and  trembling, 
taunted  by  mocking  devils  and  all  manner 
of  suggestions  to  doubt,  it  is  hard  not  to 
flinch,  but  flinching  will  prove  as  fatal  to 
the  revelation  of  Jesus  to  your  souls  as  a 
movement  will  prove  to  your  picture  when 
before  the  photographer's  camera.  Be  still 
in  your  heart  and  trust,  look  and  wait,  and 
Jesus  will  surely  come.  There  may  be  cease- 
less outward  activity;  but  this  inward  soul- 
quiet  and  watchfulness  and  faith  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  revelation  of  the 
Lord. 


DON'T  FLINCH.  141 

Abraham  slew  his  birds  and  beasts  and  laid 
them  on  the  altar  and  waited  expectantly 
for  God  to  come,  and  God  came. 

Solomon  built  his  temple,  placed  every- 
thing in  order,  then  prayed  and  waited,  when, 
lo !  the  glory  of  God  filled  the  temple  till 
the  priests  could  not  stand  in  His  presence. 

Elijah  slew  his  bullock,  placed  it  on  the 
altar,  poured  water  over  it  as  a  final  work  of 
faith,  then  prayed  and  waited  till  the 
heavens  opened  and  fire  fell  and  consumed 
his  sacrifice. 

The  disciples  prayed  and  waited  on  God 
for  ten  days;  then  suddenly  the  Holy  Ghost 
fell  on  them  in  tongues  of  fire  that  filled 
the  world  with  light. 

If  these  men  had  flinched  when  the  time 
came  to  steadfastly  look  to  God  and  believe, 
the  world  would  never  have  heard  of  them. 

A  ministerial  friend  of  mine  lost  the  bless- 
ing of  full  salvation.  I  found  him  in  this 
state  and  dealt  faithfully  with  him.  He 
went  to  his  church  that  night,  and  told  his 
people  his  condition,  and  called  them  around 
the  altar  with  him ;  but  he  failed  to  get  the 
blessing.  A  wise  friend  of  mine,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  present,  explained  his  failure  by 
saying :  "He  didn't  stay  on  his  knees  long 
enough.  He  was  in  too  big  a  hurry.  He 
didn't  give  God  time  to  deal  with  him."  The 
fact  was,  he  flinched  when  the  time  to  stead- 
ily watch  and  wait  and  trust  came. 

The  Lord  God  declared  by  the  mouth  of 
Isaiah,  "He  that  believeth  shall  not  make 
haste."  (Isaiah  28:  16.)  It  is  in  this  attitude 


142  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

of  unflinching  watching  and  waiting  that 
faith  and  patience  are  made  perfect;  and 
when  this  perfection  is  attained,  the  Lord 
will  come  suddenly  to  'His  temple,  even  to 
the  heart  that  has  waited  for  Him. 

Myriads  are  the  souls  that  can  say  with 
the  royal  Psalmist :  "I  waited  patiently  for 
the  Lord,  and  He  inclined  unto  me  and 
heard  my  cry.  He  brought  me  up  also  out 
of  an  horrible  pit,  out  of  the  miry  clay,  and 
set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  established  my 
goings;  and  He  hath  put  a  new  song  into  my 
mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God."  (Psalm 
40:  1-3.) 


Can  a  person  -who  was  once  sanctified  and  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  who  became  a  back- 
slider openly,  be  brought  back  to  God  and  enjoy 
the  same  blessing  seeing  that  the  sixth  chapter 
of  Hebrews  says:  "For  it  is  impossible  for  those 
who  were  once  enlightened  and  have  tasted  of 
the  heavenly  gift  and  were  made  partakers  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tested  the  word  of 
God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  if 
they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  unto 
repentance,  seeing  they  crucify  unto  themselves 
the  Son  of  God  afresh  and  put  Him  to  an  open 
shame?" 

Answer :  A  sanctified  man  who  backslides  and 
goes  into  open  sin  may  be  restored  if  in  his 
inmost  heart  and  soul  he  does  not  utterly  go 


DON'T  FLINCH.  143 

away  from  God,  curse  God  in  his  heart  and 
crucify  Jesus  to  himself.  A  sanctified  man  may 
backslide  and  go  into  open  sin  and  yet  not  go 
so  far  but  that  in  his  heart  he  hates  himself 
rather  than  Jesus,  and  feels  secret  sorrow  for 
his  backsliding.  It  is  not  impossible  to  renew 
such  a  man  as  that  to  repentance,  and  many 
have  repented  and  been  saved  and  sanctified  and 
made  to  praise  God  again  for  His  infinite  mercy, 
The  devil  very  often  wounds  tender  consciences 
•with  these  verses,  and  tries  hard  to  drive  some 
who  truly  repent  and  are  full  of  godly  sorrow 
to  despair.  So  long  as  a  man  feels  sorrow  in 
his  heart  for  backslidings  and  longs  to  get  back 
again  and  love  and  serve  Jesus,  he  has  not 
passed  "the  dead  line."  But  let  backsliders  be- 
ware, for  they  are  on  dangerous  ground,  and 
may  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin  become 
so  hardened  that  they  will  never  find  God  any 
more. 

If  anyone  who  falls  into  open  sin  will  repent 
as  David  did,  and  pray  as  he  did  in  Psalm  51, 
be  will  soon  find  that  the  multitude  of  God's 
tender  mercies  is  greater  than  he  supposed. 


144  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 


XXI. 


FAITH    IS    WHAT    YOU    WANT. 

Once  in  one  of  our  holiness  meetings,  I  met 
a  sister  who  was  evidently  in  great  spiritual 
distress,  with  intense  hunger  for  full  salva- 
tion. After  a  few  moments'  conversation,  I 
felt  assured  that  she  was  ready  to  accept 
the  blessing,  and  so  we  knelt  in  prayer;  but 
for  some  reason  our  prayers  did  not  prevail. 
I  then  asked  if  she  were  sure  her  conse- 
cration was  complete.  She  at  once  declared 
it  was ;  she  was  willing  to  die  for  it. 

"Then,"  said  I,  "sister,  there  are  three 
things  you  must  believe.  First,  do  you  be- 
lieve God  is  able  to  sanctify  you  wholly?" 

"Yes." 

"Second.     Do  you  believe  He  is  willing?" 

"Yes." 

"Then,  with  your  perfect  consecration, 
there  is  but  one  other  step  to  take,  and  the 
wonder  work  of  grace  will  be  done.  Will 
you  believe  that  He  doeth  it?  For  the 
promise  is :  'Whatsoever  ye  desire  when  ye 


FAITH    IS    WHAT    YOU    WANT.  145 

pray,  believe  that  ye  receive  (are  receiving), 
and  ye  shall  have.'  Will  you  believe  this?" 

"But    I   don't   feel   that   He   does." 

"That  makes  no  difference,  sister;  your 
faith  must  precede  all  feeling." 

"But  I  can't  believe  that  He  has  done  it." 

"I  don't  ask  you  to  believe  that  He  has 
done  it,  but  that  He  is  doing  it,  in  answer 
to  your  present  faith.  You  must  believe  that 
He  doeth  it,  if  ever  you  get  the  witness  of 
the  Spirit.  Say,  'I  will  believe  God.' " 

"Well,  I   will  try." 

"No,  that  won't  do ;  you  must  believe,  not 
try  to  believe." 

"Well,  I  am  determined  to  struggle  on  till 
the  blessing  comes." 

"No,  sister,  your  struggles  will  do  no  good 
unless  you  believe ;  and  until  you  do  this 
you  are  making  God  a  liar." 

"But  won't  I  be  lying  to  say  I  believe  when 
I  don't  feel  like  it?" 

"No,  'for  faith  cometh  by  hearing  and  hear- 
ing by  the  Word  of  God' ;  and  the  Word  of 
God  to  you  is,  'Now  are  ye  clean  through  the 
word  I  have  spoken  unto  you.'  'Ask  and  ye 
shall  receive.'  " 

That  evening  I  saw  the  sister  again.  She 
said,  "I  have  committed  myself  to  God,  and 
shall  trust  Him,  till  the  witness  of  my  ac- 
ceptance comes." 

The  next  day  she  was  in  the  meeting,  and 
related  her  experience,  telling  us  that  in  the 
night  God  awoke  her  with  an  assurance  of 
His  love,  and  gave  her  the  clear  witness  of 
the  Spirit  that  she  was  entirely  sanctified, 


146  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

putting  glory  into  her  heart  and  hallelujahs 
on  her  tongue. 

Entire  consecration  is  not  entire  sanctifi- 
cation.  You  are  commanded  to  "present  your 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  unto 
God.''  This  is  entire  consecration ;  but  it  is 
also  said,  "With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness;  and  with  the  mouth  confes- 
sion is  made  unto  salvation."  So  then  there 
must  be  entire  consecration,  unwavering 
faith,  and  frank,  artless  confession  of  both 
to  Jesus.  This  is  man's  part,  and,  when  these 
simple  conditions  are  met  and  steadfastly 
maintained,  against  all  contrary  feelings,  God 
will  suddenly  come  in  to  His  holy  temple, 
filling  the  soul  with  His  presence,  purity  and 
power.  This  two-fold  work  by  man  and 
God  constitutes  the  one  experience  of  entire 
sanctification.  When  this  experience  is 
yours,  at  your  very  earliest  opportunity 
confess  it  before  men. 


PRACTICAL    LESSONS.  147 


PRACTICAL  LESSONS  OF  THE  RESURRECTION. 


XXII. 

St.  Paul  tells  us,  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Ephesians,  that  the  same  power  which  raised 
Christ  from  the  dead  is  in  us  who  believe. 
In  the  fourth  chapter  he  says  of  Jesus  that, 
having  ascended  "on  high  He  led  captivity 
captive  and  gave  gifts  unto  men."  In  the 
third  chapter  of  Philippians  he  says  of  him- 
self, "What  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I 
counted  loss  for  Christ.  Yea,  and  I  count 
all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  my  Lord,  for 
whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things, 
and  do  count  them  but  dung  that  I  may 
win  Christ.  .  .  .  that  I  may  know  Him 
and  the  power  of  His  resurrection." 

The  practical,  every-day  teaching  of  these 
Scriptures  to  me  is  this :  That  since  Jesus 
rose  from  the  dead  and  ascended  on  high,  He 
puts  at  my  disposal  the  same  power  to  do  and 
suffer  His  will  that  His  Heavenly  Father 
gave  to  Him. 


148  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Jesus  "was  crucified  through  weakness,  yet 
He  liveth  by  the  power  of  God,"  and  when 
He  rose  from  the  dead  He  broke  every  fet- 
ter forged  by  Satan,  sin  and  hell,  and  carried 
them  captive,  and  opened  a  way  by  which 
every  child  of  man  may  go  free  and  enter 
into  union  with  God  through  the  indwelling 
Holy  Ghost,  and  have  the  power  of  God 
working  mightily  and  triumphantly  in  him. 
Bless  God  forever !  In  ancient  times  victori- 
ous generals  carried  captive  the  captains  and 
kings  whom  they  conquered,  with  all  the 
wealth  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon,  and 
when  they  returned  to  their  own  people  they 
distributed  gifts  from  the  spoils  of  the 
enemy.  So  Jesus,  having  triumphed  over  all 
the  power  of  the  enemy,  distributed  gifts  of 
love  and  joy  and  faith  and  patience  and 
spiritual  insight  and  wisdom  to  his  people, 
that  shall  enable  them  also  to  have  power 
over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy. 

He  came  as  a  lowly  stranger  into  the  iron 
furnace  of  this  sin-cursed,  devil-enslaved 
world.  He  toiled  with  its  toiling  millions, 
He  suffered  their  sorrows  and  their  sick- 
nessess,  their  poverty  and  their  temptations, 
and  when  he  had  impressed  upon  a  few  of 
them  a  faint  sense  of  His  divinity,  hid  under 
the  humble  garb  of  His  humanity,  He  suf- 
fered death  and  dashed  their  hopes,  as  they 
supposed,  forever.  But  He  rose  again,  and 
ascended  "far  above  all  principality  and 
power,  and  might  and  dominion,"  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father  as  our 
Intercessor,  our  Advocate,  and  from  that 


PRACTICAL    LESSONS  149 

place  of  power  He  pleads  our  cause,  watches 
our  interests,  guides  our  steps,  strengthens 
our  hearts,  illuminates  our  minds,  secures  for 
us  boundless  gifts  and  graces  and  immunities 
which  we  are  at  liberty  to  take  by  faith  and 
use  for  the  advancement  of  His  Kingdom 
of  holiness  and  humility,  of  righteousness 
and  peace  and  joy  in  our  own  hearts  and  the 
hearts  of  others. 

It  is  His  purpose  that  we  should,  in  a  most 
important  sense,  sustain  the  same  relation 
to  Him  now  that  He  sustained  to  His 
Heavenly  Father  in  the  days  of  His  human- 
ity, that  we  should  be  baptized  with  the  same 
Spirit,  and  preach  with  the  same  authority, 
and  secure  the  same  results,  and  gain  the 
same  final  and  eternal  victory,  and  at  last 
sit  down  with  Him  on  His  throne  for  ever- 
more. 

This  being  so,  I  am  under  as  much  obliga- 
tion now  to  be  holy,  to  be  empowered  by  the 
Spirit,  and  to  be  about  my  Lord's  business, 
as  I  shall  be  in  heaven.'  And,  bless  God,  this 
is  not  only  an  obligation,  but  an  inspira- 
tion ! 

Who,  having  caught  a  glimpse  of  this  high 
and  holy  purpose  of  his  resurrected  Lord, 
can  ever  be  content  again  to  grope  in  the 
malarial  fogs  of  unbelief  and  grovel  on  the 
dung-hill  of  this  world's  poor  little  pleasures 
and  riches  and  honors?  Who  would  not  for- 
sake father  and  mother,  and  wife  and  chil- 
dren, and  houses  and  lands,  pluck  out  a  right 
eye,  cut  off  a  right  hand  or  foot,  cast  off 
every  weight  and  easily-besetting  sin,  deny 


150  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

himself,  take  up  his  cross,  esteem  all  this 
world's  gain  as  loss,  and  if  needs  be,  sacri- 
fice his  life  in  order  to  "know  the  power  of 
His  resurrection,"  enter  into  this  "life  hid 
with  Christ  in  God,1'  and  not  disappoint  his 
Lord? 

It  was  for  this  we  were  born,  and  to  fall 
short  of  this  will  be  infinite,  eternal  loss,  and 
doom  us  to  an  everlasting  night  of  shame 
and  contempt. 


How  great  Is  the  power  of  testimony !  How 
pitifully  slow  we  are  to  talk  of  God  and  His 
dealings  with  us,  and  how  much  we  lose  by 
silence !  What  a  chill  comes  over  the  soul  when 
that  horrid  restraint  holds  us  back  from  speaking 
of  Christ  in  the  ordinary  daily  contact  with 
others !  Is  it  not  often  a  positive  burden  and 
condemnation  that  we  are  silent? — silent  about 
Him  when  we  can  speak  of  anything  else;  silent, 
when  we  feel  that  even  the  birds  and  beasts 
and  trees  and  flowers,  aye,  and  the  very  stones, 
are  praising  Him?  What  is  the  secret  of  that 


PRACTICAL    LESSONS.  151 

restraint?  Brother  Lawrence  used  to  say  that 
we  do  not  talk  of  Him  because  we  fail  to  talk 
to  Him.  Liberty  when  alone  in  His  presence 
•will  set  free  our  tongues  as  well  as  warm  our 
hearts  when  we  mingle  with  others.  Talk  to 
Him  about  those  things  which  are  common  in 
our  lives — our  work,  our  worries,  our  little 
hourly  cares  as  well  as  the  greater  problems, 
and  we  shall  be  able  to  talk,  and  talk  to  some 
purpose,  of  His  power  and  greatness  and  love. — 
GENERAL,  BKAMWKLL  BOOTH  in  "Books  that 
Bless." 


152  HEART  TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 


XXIII. 

EVIL-SPEAKING. 
"Speak  evil  of  no  man."    (Titus  3:2.) 

This  is  a  command  of  God,  and  should  be 
meditated  upon  and  obeyed.  A  failure  to  do 
this  leads  to  innumerable  evils.  Myriads  of 
souls  have  backslidden ;  multitudes,  almost 
persuaded,  have  turned  back  into  darkness; 
many  revivals  have  been  quenched ;  and 
many  houses  of  God  have  become  spiritual 
sepulchres,  all  because  of  evil-speaking.  But 
someone  will  at  once  ask :  "What  is  evil- 
speaking  ?" 

1.  It  is  evil  to  tell  lies  about  any  man,  or 
slander  him  in  any  way.  "Thou  shalt  not 
bear  false  witness,"  God  says.  A  man's  repu- 
tation and  character  are  sacred  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  just  as  he  forbids  one  man  to 
rob  another  of  his  property,  or  to  take  his 
life,  so  He  forbids  him  to  lie  about  another, 
or  rob  him  of  his  good  name.  This  is  a  holy 


EVIL-SPEAKING.  153 

commandment,  and  commends  itself  to  every 
man's    conscience. 

2.  It  is  evil  to  retail  the  faults  and  infir- 
mities  of   others.     This   is   a  very  common 
form  of  evil-speaking,  but  love  will  cover  up 
such    faults    and    infirmities.      Just    as    it    is 
beautiful   in  children  to   never   speak   about 
or  appear  to  notice  the  club-feet  or  hunch- 
back or  cross-eyes  of  a  little  playmate,  so  it 
is    lovely    and    Christlike   in    us   to    pass   by 
faults  and  infirmities,  and  it   is  evil  not  to 
do  so. 

3.  It  is  evil  to  tell  of  any  man's  sins  and 
actual  wrong-doing  where  and  when  it  will 
do  no  good. 

"But    why    should    we    speak    evil    of    no 
man?"    someone    may    ask. 

1.  Because  in  speaking  evil  we  wrong  the 
man.     It  is  a  grievous  wrong  to  speak  evil 
of  any  man.  You  do  not  like  anyone  to  speak 
evil  of  you,  and  you  consider  it  wrong  for 
anyone  to  do  so.    But  why?    When  you  have 
answered  you  have  given  yourself  a  reason 
why  you  should  not  speak  evil  of  any  man. 

2.  Because  in  speaking  evil  of  any  man  we 
wrong   those   to    whom    we  thus   speak.     It 
fills  their  minds  with  unholy,  unjust  preju- 
dice.     It    excludes    good    thoughts,    and    it 
tempts  them  to  think  and  speak  evil. 

3.  Because   we    wrong   our   own   souls   by 
evil-speaking.     It  destroys   all  generous  and 
kindly  thoughts  in  us,  and  quenches  love.  It 


154  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

opens  our  hearts  for  the  devil  to  enter,  and 
he  will  make  haste  to  come  in.  It  prevents 
us  from  praying  in  faith  and  love  for  the 
person,  which  would  be  infinitely  better  than 
speaking  evil  of  him,  and  which  he  especially 
needs,  if  he  is  in  any  way  wrong. 

4.  Because  in  speaking  evil  of  any  man  we 
grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  and  break  the  com- 
mandment of  God.     The   Holy   Spirit  leads 
us  to  love  all  men — even  our  enemies ;  leads 
us  to  love  them — even  as  Jesus  loved  them, 
but   evil-speaking  destroys   love.     The    Holy 
Spirit  leads  us  to  pray  for  all  men,  especially 
for  those  who  are  faulty  and  sinful,  but  evil- 
speaking   quenches    the    spirit   of    prayer   as 
water  quenches  fire. 

5.  Because  in  speaking  evil  of  any  man  we 
wrong  Jesus.     He   died   for  that   man.     He 
bought  him  with  His  Blood,  and  even  though 
the   man    may  be   a   sinner,   a  backslider,   a 
hypocrite,  and  refuses  to  obey  God  and  love 
and  trust  Jesus,  yet  Jesus  loves  and  spares 
him,  and  is  wronged  when  he  is  spoken  evilly 
of.    Jesus  identifies  Himself  with  the  sinner 
to  whom  we  give  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  His 
name,  and  says  the  good  we  do  is  done  unto 
Him,  and  so  He  will  identify  Himself  with 
the  sinner  whom  we  wrong  by  evil-speaking, 
and  in  the  judgment  will   face  us   with  the 
wrong  as  done  to  Himself  unless  we  heart- 
ily repent. 

What  is  the  remedy? 

1.  If  he  is  bad  or  faulty  in  any  way,  con- 
sider the  fact  that  he  may  have  secret  trials 


EVIL-SPEAKING.  155 

and  temptations  that  you  know  nothing  about. 
He  may  have  business  troubles  and  snares 
that  lead  him  to  wrong,  or  he  may  have 
family  trials  to  which  you  are  a  stranger,  or 
he  may  have  had  very  faulty  early  training 
which  has  marred  him  for  life.  Not  that 
these  things  will  excuse  him  in  the  Day  of 
Judgment,  but  they  should  lead  you  and  me 
to  pity  rather  than  to  abuse  him  by  speaking 
evil  of  him. 

"I  often  see  in  my  own  thoughts, 
When  they  lie  nearest  Thee, 

That  the  worst  men  I  ever  knew 
Were  better  men  than  me." 

Think  about  your  own  evils.  This  will  be 
far  more  profitable  to  you  than  to  think 
about  his,  and  will  be  infinitely  more  likely 
to  make  a  better  man  or  woman  of  you. 
One  of  the  chief  dangers  to  ourselves  in 
evil-speaking  is  that  we  come  to  underesti- 
mate everybody  else,  and  to  esteem  our- 
selves more  highly  than  we  ought.  We  come 
to  look  at  our  own  virtues  and  other  people's 
faults,  when  we  ought  to  look  at  their 
virtues  and  at  our  own  faults. 

"Yes,  they  have  caught  the  way  of  God, 

To  whom  self  lies  displayed 
In  such  clear  vision  as  to  oast 

O'er  others'  faults  a  shade." 

If  we  want  to  be  like  Jesus,  we  must  obey 
the  command,  "In  lowliness  of  mind  let  each 


156  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

esteem  other  better  than  themselves,"  but 
this  will  be  an  impossibility  where  evil- 
speaking  is  indulged. 

3.  Consider    how    Jesus    loves    him.      If 
Jesus    loved    him    enough   to   die    for    him, 
if  He  still  loves  him  enough  to  spare  him, 
in  spite  of  all  his  faults  and  sins,  and  to  save 
him  the  moment  he  repents,  trusts  and  obeys, 
how  dare  we  speak  evil  of  him?    And  if  he 
is  a  follower  of  Jesus  and  a  child  of  God 
even  though  he  may  be  very  imperfect,  how 
dare  we  speak  evil  of  him?    Would  we  dare 
speak  evil  of  an  angel  by  the  Throne  of  God 
and  expect  God  to  be  deaf  and  allow  our 
sin  to  go  unpunished?    Would  we  not  rather 
expect  His  holiness  to  flame  out  in  terrible 
wrath   and  consume  us?     And  is  any  poor 
sinful  soul  that  has  looked  to  Jesus  for  sal- 
vation any  less  dear  to  the  heart  of   God 
than      the      shining     angels      around      His 
Throne? 

4.  "Thou  hypocrite,  first  cast  out  the  beam 
out  of  thine  own  eye,  and  then  shalt  thou 
see    clearly    to    cast    the    mote    out   of    thy 
brother's  eye."     (Matt.  7:  5.)     Get  a  clean 
heart,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  full  of  love, 
and    you    cannot    speak    evil    of    any    man. 
With     a     heart     flaming     with     love,     you 
will   pray   for  the   wrong-doer,   and   if   you 
see    evil    in    him,    you    will    go   to    him    in 
love   and  try   to   correct   him,   just   as   you 
would  go  to  a  blind  man  walking  toward  a 


EVIL- SPEAKING.  157 

precipice,  and  try  and  turn  him  from  certain 
death. 

"I  need  Thy  mercy  for  my  sin; 

But  more  than  this  I   need — 
Thy  mercy's  likeness  in  my  soul, 

For  others'  sin  to  bleed. 

"All  bitterness  is  from  ourselves, 

All  sweetness  is  from  Thee ; 
Sweet  God,  forevermore  be  Thou 

Fountain  and  fire  in  me." 


158  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 


XXIV. 


HOW   TO   STUDY  THE  BIBLE. 

The  other  day  I  received  a  letter  from  a 
young  officer,  asking  for  a  few  suggestions 
as  to  how  to  read  and  study  the  Bible.  Here 
they  are : 

1.  Read  and  study  it  as  two  young  lovers 
read  and  study  each  other's  letters.  As  soon 
as  the  mail  brings  a  letter  from  his  sweet- 
heart, the  young  man  grasps  it  and  without 
waiting  to  see  if  there  is  not  another  letter 
for  him,  runs  off  to  a  corner  and  reads  and 
laughs  and  rejoices  over  it  and  almost  de- 
vours it.  If  he  is  a  particularly  desperate 
and  demonstrative  lover — (the  Lord  make 
us  desperate  and  demonstrative  lovers  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ!) — he  will  probably 
kiss  it  and  carry  it  next  to  his  heart  till 
the  next  one  comes. 

He  meditates  on  it  day  and  night,  and  reads 
it  over  again  and  then  again.  He  carries 
it  downtown  with  him,  and  on  the  street-car 


HOW   TO   STUDY  THE   BIBLE.  159 

appears  very  quiet  and  thoughtful,  till  all 
at  once  a  twinkle  comes  into  his  eye,  out 
comes  the  letter  and  choice  portions  are  read 
over  again.  He  delights  in  that  letter.  If 
any  part  is  hard  to  understand,  a  letter  is 
sent  off  post  haste  for  explanations,  and  the 
explanation  and  letter  will  be  most  carefully 
compared,  and  possibly  also  previous  letters 
will  be  studiously  compared  with  this  one, 
like  a  young  man  I  knew  whose  fate  was 
hanging  in  the  balance.  He  wanted  assur- 
ance, but  the  young  woman  was  coy,  and  she 
veiled  her  true  feelings  and  left  him  in  un- 
certainty, and  he  studied  her  letters  and 
weighed  every  word  and  phrase  and  brought 
them  to  me,  and  had  me  compare  letter  with 
letter,  as  we  should  compare  Scripture  with 
Scripture,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  discover 
the  state  of  her  mind  and  heart  and  his 
prospects.  In  due  time  he  was  abundantly 
rewarded. 

Now,  that  is  the  way  to  read  the  Bible. 
It  is  God's  will  and  testament.  It  is  His 
own  carefully  written  instructions  as  to  what 
manner  of  people  He  would  have  us  be;  as 
to  how  we  should  behave  ourselves ;  what  we 
shall  do  and  not  do;  what  our  rights  and 
privileges  in  Jesus  are;  what  are  our  peculiar 
dangers ;  how  we  shall  know  our  enemies 
and  conquer  them;  how  we  shall  enter 
into  and  constantly  enjoy  His  favor,  and 
escape  hell  and  get  safely  home  to  heaven. 


160  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

II.    Read  in  Acts  17:  11,  how  the  disciples 
in  Berea  did. 

1.  "They  received  the  Word  with  all  readi- 
ness of  mind."     A  frank  and  noble  mind  is 
open  to   the  truth  and  wants  it  more   than 
gold  or  pleasure  or  fame  or  power. 

2.  "They  searched  the  Scriptures."     They 
wanted  to  know  for  themselves,  and  not  by 
hearsay.  They  searched.    Precious  things  are 
deeply  hidden.     Pebbles  and  stones  and  au- 
tumn leaves  abound  everywhere,  but  gold  and 
silver  and   precious   stones   are  hidden   deep 
in  the  bowels  and   rocky  ribs  of  the  earth ; 
shells    cover    the    seashore,    but    pearls    are 
hidden    in    its    depths.      And    so    with   truth. 
Some  truths  may  lie  on  the  surface  of  the 
Bible,  but  those  that  will   altogether  satisfy 
and  distinguish   us  and  make   us  wise   unto 
salvation     are     found     only     after     diligent 
search,  even  as  for  hid  treasure.    "Search  the 
Scriptures,"  said  Jesus,  "for  in  them  ye  think 
ye  have  eternal  life ;  and  they  are  they  which 
testify  of  Me."     If  you  would  know  Jesus, 
search  the  Scriptures,  and  you  will  come  to 
know  Him  and  to  see  His  face,  and  be  like 
Him. 

3.  "They  searched  daily."    Daily,  not  spas- 
modically, by  fits  and  starts,  but  daily,  habit- 
ually, they  digged  into  the  Word  of  God,  to 
find  out  if  the  things  Paul  preached  were  so. 
And  just  so  must  you  do.    "Thou  shalt  medi- 
tate therein  day  and  night/'   was   God's  in- 
struction to  Joshua.     And  once  this  habit  is 


HOW   TO   STUDY  THE   BIBLE.  161 

formed  the  delight  in  God's  Word  will  be- 
come   unspeakable. 

"Thy  words  were  found,  and  I  did  eat 
them,"  said  Jeremiah,  "and  Thy  Word  was 
unto  me  the  joy  and  rejoicing  of  my  heart." 
"Oh,  how  love  I  Thy  law !  It  is  my  medita- 
tion all  the  day,"  cried  the  Psalmist. 

In  forming  the  habit  of  Bible  study  we 
may  have  to  begin  and  follow  it  up  for  a 
time  from  a  sense  of  duty,  but  once  the  habit 
is  formed,  if  we  are  not  only  hearers  but 
doers  of  the  Word,  we  shall  follow  it  up  for 
very  joy,  until  we  can  say  with  Job,  "I  have 
esteemed  the  words  of  His  mouth  more  than 
my  necessary  food." 

III.  Read  and  study  the  Word  not  to  get  a 
mass  of  knowledge  in  the  head,  but  a  flame 
of   love  in   the   heart.     "Knowledge   puffeth 
up,"  but  "love  buildeth  up."     Read  it  to  find 
fuel  for  affection,  food  for  reflection,  direc- 
tion for  judgment,  guidance  for  conscience. 

Read  it  not  alone  that  you  may  know,  but 
that  you  may  do. 

IV.  Follow  carefully   the   line   of  thought 
from  verse  to  verse  and  chapter  to  chapter. 
Often  the  first  part  of  one  chapter  belongs 
to  the  last  part  of  the  preceding  chapter.  For 
instance,  in  the  last  verse  of  the  fourth  chap- 
ter of  Ephesians  we  read,  "And  be  ye  kind 
to  one  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving  one 
another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath 


162  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

forgiven  you,"  and  in  the  first  verse  of  the 
fifth  chapter  we  read,  "Be  ye  therefore  fol- 
lowers of  God  as  dear  children." 

These  two  verses  belong  together.  We  are 
to  follow  God  in  what?  Why,  in  the  spirit 
of  kindness  and  tender-heartedness  and  for- 
giveness. 

Again,  in  John  7:  53,  we  read,  "And  every 
man  went  unto  his  own  house,"  and  in  8 :  1, 
"Jesus  went  unto  the  Mount  of  Olives." 

These  two  verses  belong  together.  Jesus 
had  no  house.  Bless  Him !  So  when  they 
went  each  to  his  own  house  for  the  night, 
Jesus  went  to  the  cold,  dark  mount. 

Finally,  do  not  be  discouraged  if  progress 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  Word  seems  slow 
at  first.  It  is  like  learning  to  play  an  instru- 
ment or  master  a  trade ;  for  the  first  few  days 
or  weeks  it  appears  impossible,  but  it  is  not 
so.  Some  glad  day  a  brain-cell  will  expand 
or  a  veil  drop  from  your  face  and  scales 
from  your  eyes,  and  you  will  find  yourself 
doing  the  impossible  with  ease. 

So  it  will  be  in  acquainting  yourself  with 
the  Word  of  God.  Keep  at  it,  keep  at  it, 
keep  at  it !  Cry  to  God  with  David,  "Open 
Thou  mine  eyes  that  I  may  behold  wondrous 
things  out  of  Thy  law." 

Pray  for  an  understanding  heart.  You  will 
only  love  and  understand  the  Word  as  Jesus 
reveals  it  to  you.  So  walk  with  Him,  take 
up  your  cross  and  follow  Him  through  evil 
as  well  as  good  report. 

After  His  resurrection  He  came  to  His 
trembling,  heart-broken,  disappointed  disci- 


HOW   TO   STUDY   THE  BIBLE.  163 

pies,  and  Luke  tells  us  that  "beginning  at 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  He  expounded  unto 
them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  concern- 
ing Himself,"  and  later  Luke  says,  "Then 
opened  He  their  understanding,  that  they 
might  understand  the  Scriptures." 

There  are  things  in  the  Bible  hard  to  be 
understood,  and  we  may  not  know  them  till 
we  stand  by  the  crystal  sea,  but  we  can  learn 
those  things  that  will  make  us  meek  and 
lowly  in  heart  as  was  Jesus,  watchful,  patient, 
loving,  kind,  forgiving,  and  utterly  zealous 
and  self-sacrificing  for  the  salvation  of  men. 
Hallelujah! 

Happy  shall  we  be,  if,  like  David,  we  can 
say,  "Thy  Word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart,  that 
I  might  not  sin  against  Thee.''  (Ps.  119: 
11.) 


164  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 


XXV. 


HOW   TO   PREPARE   FOR    MEETING. 

A  long  time  ago,  Luke  tells  us,  when 
Jesus  was  a  boy  of  twelve,  He  went  with 
His  parents  and  neighbors  up  to  Jerusalem 
to  the  feast  of  the  Passover.  On  the  return 
of  the  company  the  child  Jesus  tarried  behind 
in  Jerusalem.  "And  Joseph  and  His  mother 
knew  not  of  it.  But  they,  supposing  Him  to 
have  been  in  the  company,  went  a  day's 
journey;  and  they  sought  Him  among  their 
kinsfolk  and  acquaintance  and  found  Him 
not." 

Their  mistake  was  in  taking  it  for  granted 
that  Jesus  was  in  the  company.  Joseph  knew 
He  was  not  with  him,  and  Mary  knew  He 
was  not  with  her,  and  the  kinsfolk  and 
acquaintances  knew  He  was  not  with  them, 
and  yet  each  took  it  for  granted  that  He  was 
in  the  company  with  someone  else.  But  lo! 
when  they  sougTit  Him,  they  found  Him  not; 
He  was  not  there. 


HOW   TO    PREPARE   FOR   MEETING.  165 

Just  so,  frequently  in  meetings  and  con- 
ventions the  people  all  suppose  Jesus  is  in  the 
company,  and  yet  there  may  not  be  one  that 
is  personally  conscious  of  His  presence,  but 
they  take  it  for  granted  that  He  is  with 
someone  else,  and  lo !  He  may  not  be  in  their 
midst  at  all.  He  has  not  been  perseveringly, 
importunately,  humbly  and  believingly  sought 
for  and  invited  to  come,  and  so  He  has 
stayed  behind. 

I  remember,  a  number  of  years  ago,  going 
to  a  camp-meeting,  hoping  to  find  Jesus  there 
in  power.  I  got  there  two  or  three  days  after 
the  opening,  and  I  found,  if  I  now  remember 
rightly,  that  no  one  had  been  saved.  There 
was  no  grip  and  power  in  the  meetings.  At 
the  appointed  hour  for  the  meeting  the  bell 
would  ring,  and  the  officers  and  soldiers,  who 
had  been  laughing  and  joking  and  singing 
songs  and  visiting  each  other  and  making 
merry  generally,  would  come  strolling  into 
the  meetings  with  smiles  on  their  faces  and 
''God  bless  you's"  on  their  tongues,  but  with 
apparently  no  solemn  consciousness  of  the 
holy  presence  of  the  Crucified  One  in  their 
midst.  Then  the  meeting  would  begin  with 
a  rush  and  bang,  and  songs  and  prayers 
and  jokes  and  laughter  and  collection  and 
smart  testimonies  and  a  Bible  reading  would 
follow,  and  the  meeting  would  end  again 
without  souls,  and  everybody  would  go 
out  good-naturedly,  make  a  rush  for 
the  best  seats  at  the  dinner-table  and  enjoy 
themselves  beautifully  until  the  next  meet- 
ing. 


166  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

Everyone  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  Jesus  was  in  the  company,  yet  no  one 
seemed  to  be  especially  conscious  of  His 
presence. 

At  last  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  meetings 
were  galloped  through  with,  but  no  souls 
were  saved,  and  it  was  suggested  that  per- 
haps Jesus  was  missing.  A  prayer-meeting 
was  called  to  look  for  Jesus,  and  some  of  the 
people  present  had  to  allow  that  Jesus  was 
not  with  them.  Then  some  of  them  went  to 
their  tents  to  look  for  Jesus,  and  some  went 
to  the  woods  and  got  down  on  their  knees 
to  look  for  Him,  and  would  not  give  up  the 
the  search  until  at  last,  bless  Him,  He  was 
found,  and  when  He  was  told  that  He  was 
expected  and  that  He  must  come,  and  that 
we  would  not  let  Him  go  except  He  blessed 
us,  then  He  came,  and  there  was  a  shout  of 
a  King  in  the  camp,  and  He  gave  us  a  touch 
of  His  baptism,  which  is  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  with  fire.  The  officers,  soldiers  and  saints 
got  awfully  in  earnest,  and  the  poor  sinners 
got  awfully  alarmed  and  convicted,  so  that 
they  were  no  longer  anxious  about  what  they 
should  have  for  dinner.  And  some  seemed 
so  anxious  to  talk  with  Jesus  and  get  filled 
with  His  spirit,  and  His  great  thoughts,  and 
to  get  Him  to  put  the  dynamite  into  their 
testimonies  and  songs  and  prayers  that  they 
lost  their  appetites  and  didn't  care  whether 
they  had  any  dinner  at  all,  if  only  they  could 
be  fed  with  bread  from  Heaven. 

Oh,  I  tell  you,  it  was  wonderful,  the  trans- 
formation that  came  over  that  camp-ground 


HOW   TO   PREPARE   FOR   MEETING.  167 

when  Jesus  got  there !  The  shallow  joy  that 
caused  men  to  smile  and  make  an  empty 
racket  gave  way  before  that  deep  joy  of  the 
Lord  which  makes  men  weep  and  be  serious 
and  fills  their  faces  with  the  solar  light  of 
heaven,  and  makes  their  shout  almost  as  ter- 
rible to  the  wicked  as  will  be  the  trumpet 
peals  and  awful  thunders  of  the  Judgment 
Day. 

I  tell  you  the  presence  of  Jesus  in  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  that  camp- 
ground did  make  the  remaining  days  of  the 
camp-meeting  into  veritable  judgment-days 
for  some  folks.  Then  the  news  went  abroad 
that  Jesus  was  in  the  camp,  and  the  people 
poured  in  from  all  the  country  round  about, 
and  mighty  things  were  done  in  His  nam«. 
Weak  folks  were  made  strong.  Timid  folks 
became  bold  as  lions.  Broken  hearts  were 
healed.  Sad  folks  were  made  into  glad  folks. 
The  lame  man  leaped  as  a  hart.  The  blind 
saw.  The  deaf  heard.  The  dumb  spake. 
The  hungry  multitudes  were  fed.  Spirits 
that  were  full  of  passion  and  like  a  storm- 
tossed  sea  became  peaceful  and  calm,  and 
dead  souls  were  raised  to  life.  Glory  to 
God! 

I  tell  you  it  was  the  presence  of  Jesus  that 
saved  that  camp-meeting  from  being  recorded 
as  a  dismal  failure,  and  instead  caused  it  to 
be  remembered  as  a  time  of  wondrous 
"refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord." 

Now  Jesus  is  ready  and  willing  to  go  up  to 
every  camp-meeting  and  convention  and 


168  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

council  and  indoor  and  outdoor  meeting  all 
over  the  world,  and  to  make  His  personal 
presence  felt  by  every  saint  and  soldier,  but 
each  one  must  seek  Him  as  Moses  did.  God 
had  set  Moses  to  the  tremendous  task  of  rul- 
ing a  mob  of  a  million  ignorant  Israelites, 
just  rescued  from  centuries  of  hard  bondage, 
and  leading  them  through  a  barren,  moun- 
tainous wilderness  to  the  promised  land, 
where  they  would  meet  armed  hosts,  strongly 
entrenched  in  fortified  cities.  The  burden 
was  too  heavy  for  Moses,  and  he  cried  out 
to  God:  "If  Thy  presence  go  not  with  me, 
carry  us  not  up  hence.  For  wherein  shall  it 
be  known  here  that  I  and  Thy  people  have 
found  favor  in  Thy  sight?  Is  it  not  in  that 
Thou  goest  with  us?"  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses:  "I  will  do  this  thing  also  that 
thou  hast  spoken,  for  thou  hast  found  grace 
in  My  sight,  and  I  know  thee  by  name. 
My  presence  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will 
give  thee  rest." 

.  I  do  not  wonder  any  longer  at  the  mighty 
things  Moses  did.  If  God  goes  with  a  man 
and  tells  him  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it, 
and  gives  him  the  wisdom  and  strength  with 
which  to  do  it,  then  there  is  nothing  too 
hard  for  that  man.  God  becomes  servant  of 
that  man  as  much  as  that  man  is  the  servant 
of  God.  They  are  co-workers.  One  man 
like  that  can  chase  a  thousand,  and  if  he  find 
a  fellow,  the  two  shall  put  ten  thousand  to 
flight.  Bless  God ! 

But  Jesus  is  holy  and  humble,  and  He  can- 
not walk  with  any  but  humble,  holy  men,  so, 


HOW    TO    PREPARE   FOR    MEETING.  169 

my  brother,  if  you  want  Him  to  go  with  you, 
you  must  humble  yourself  and  be  holy.  Moses 
was  the  meekest  of  men,  we  read. 

Then,  too,  if  we  want  Jesus  to  go  with  us 
to  the  meeting,  we  must  invite  Him  home 
with  us  after  the  meeting.  He  will  not  come 
to  the  meeting  and  walk  back  with  us  to  our 
tioor,  if  when  we  get  there  we  find  it  in  our 
hearts  to  bid  Him  good-night  and  close  the 
door  in  His  face,  and  go  in  and  scold  the 
wife  and  children  and  talk  about  our  neigh- 
bors and  forget  what  manner  of  spirit  we 
are  of.  Our  walk  with  Him  must  be  con- 
stant, not  fitful,  else  we  shall  seek  for  Him 
some  day  and  not  find  Him. 

Oh,  that  we  may  always  make  sure  that  He 
is  with  us,  and  not  to  take  it  for  granted,  else 
we  shall  find  that  we  have  been  going  on  a 
fool's  errand  without  Him !  Poor  Joseph  and 
Mary  lost  five  days  and  had  no  one  knows 
how  much  anxiety  and  heartache,  all  because 
they  supposed  Jesus  was  in  the  company,  but 
did  not  make  sure.  But,  bless  God !  after 
diligent  search  they  found  Him.  Is  He  with 
you  now,  my  brother?  If  He  is  not,  then 
get  your  Bible  and  go  off  alone  and  seek 
Him,  and  if  you  wake  up  and  seek  Him 
with  all  your  heart,  He  will  be  found  of  you. 


170  HEART    TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 


XXVI. 


A   WORD   TO  YOU    WHO    WOULD   BE   USEFUL. 

Does  the  devil  ever  tempt  you  to  feel  that 
you  are  of  no  use  and  can  do  nothing? 
Every  genuine  Christian  wants  to  be  useful, 
fruit-bearing,  a  soul-winner.  This  desire  is 
characteristic  of  the  new  nature,  received 
at  conversion.  When  Paul  was  converted, 
he  wanted  to  go  back  to  Jerusalem  and  tell 
all  his  old  friends  about  it,  that  they,  too, 
might  be  saved.  When  you  were  converted 
your  heart  went  out  to  God  for  the  salvation 
of  your  friends,  and  you  tried  to  so  live  your 
life  before  them  that  they  should  be  brought 
to  Jesus,  and  it  is  largely  this  desire  for 
usefulness  and  the  salvation  of  others  that 
has  led  you  to  become  a  soldier  or  an 
officer.  But  now  that  you  are  in  The  Army 
and  in  its  work,  do  you  ever  feel  that  you 
are  useless;  that  you  can  do  nothing;  that 
your  words  are  powerless  to  lead  people  to 
Jesus? 


A  WORD  TO   YOU.  171 

I  find  a  great  many  such  people,  and  maybe 
you  are  such  a  one,  and  if  so,  it  is  for  you 
I  write.  I  have  often  felt  as  you  do  myself, 
and  therefore  can  sympathize  with  you,  and 
maybe  can  write  something  to  encourage  you. 
And  first  I  would  say,  do  what  you  can. 
Angels  can  do  no  more.  Your  talents  may 
not  be  great,  but  use  what  talents  you  have 
and  God  will  surely  increase  them.  It  is  a  law 
of  God  that  what  is  used  shall  be  increased. 
Everything  that  has  life  begins  small.  The 
largest  oak  was  once  enfolded  in  an  acorn. 
The  most  skilful  musician  in  the  world  at 
one  time  did  not  know  one  note  from  another. 
The  most  learned  man  now  living  once  did 
not  know  A  from  Z.  Moses  was  once  a  help- 
less babe  in  a  floating  ark  of  bulrushes.  The 
General  was  once  a  young  convert.  But  they 
grew  and  increased.  If  there  is  spiritual  life 
m  you,  you  will  grow,  if  you  will  do 
with  your  might  what  your  hands  find  to 
do. 

Cultivate  your  talents.  There  are  many 
thousands  of  bandsmen  in  The  Army  to-day 
who  at  one  time  could  not  play  an  instrument, 
and  who  did  not  know  a  cornet  from  a  con- 
certina. But  they  began  to  practise.  It  was 
slow  work  at  first.  But  they  kept  at  it. 
Probably  the  first  day  they  could  not  see  that 
they  had  made  any  progress  at  all,  nor  the 
second  day;  but  in  a  week  or  a  month  they 
could  see.  They  began,  kept  patiently  at  it, 
and  at  last  succeeded.  That  is  the  way  to 
cultivate  any  talent  we  have.  That  is  the  way 
to  become  mighty  in  prayer,  to  become  ac- 


172  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

quainted  with  the  Bible,  to  learn  to  speak  or 
sing  or  fish  for  souls.  Begin,  and  keep 
at  it. 

Do  not  get  discouraged  because  you  can- 
not do  as  well  as  someone  else.  God  has  a 
work  for  you  to  do,  and  no  one  else  can  do 
it;  not  even  the  General  could  do  it.  God 
meant  that  work  for  you  and  you  for  that 
work,  and  if  you  do  not  do  it,  it  will  never 
be  done.  The  thing  then  for  you  to  do  is  to 
go  to  God  and  thank  Him  for  what  gifts  you 
have  and  for  giving  you  some  work  to  do, 
and  then  ask  Him  for  wisdom  to  do  it 
bravely,  faithfully  and  wisely,  and  He  will 
surely  be  with  you. 

Do  not  sit  down  in  the  discouragement  of 
unbelief  and  think  because  you  have  not  the 
talents  of  some  gifted  person  you  know  that 
therefore  you  can  do  nothing.  That  is  wicked. 
It  is  dishonoring  to  God,  pleasing  to  the  devil, 
and  will  surely  result  in  a  great  loss  to  your 
soul,  if  not  in  the  final  loss  of  your  soul. 
Jesus  tells  us  that  the  man  with  five  talents 
put  his  money  out  at  use  and  gained  five 
talents  more,  and  likewise  the  man  with  two 
talents.  But  He  says  that  the  man  with  one 
talent  went  and  wrapped  it  in  a  napkin  and 
hid  it,  and  so  lost  it,  and  was  himself  cast 
out  as  a  slothful  and  wicked  servant  into 
outer  darkness,  where  there  is  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth. 

Secondly,  encourage  your  poor,  trembling 
heart  with  the  promises  and  examples  in  the 
Bible.  Here  is  a  promise  for  you,  "My 
beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  unmovable, 


A   WORD  TO   YOU.  1(J 

always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord, 
forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labor  is 
not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  (1  Cor.  15: 
58.)  The  devil  tells  you  that  your 
labor  is  vain,  but  God  says  it  is  not.  Be- 
lieve God,  my  brother,  and  go  on  with  your 
work.  Again  the  Lord  says,  "Whatsoever 
a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." 
David  tried  on  Saul's  armor,  but  he  could 
not  fight  in  that,  so  he  laid  it  aside  and  went 
out  against  the  giant  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  with  his  sling  and  a  smooth  stone  out 
of  the  brook  and  slew  him. 

Saul's  armor,  wrought  at  the  forge,  may  be 
like  the  education  and  culture  gained  in  the 
theological  schools  and  universities,  while  the 
sling  and  stone  are  like  the  wisdom  given 
to  simple,  humble,  faithful  hearts  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  mills  and  shops  and  kitchens, 
and  the  lowly  places  of  secret  prayer  and 
daily  toil.  Go,  my  brother,  my  sister,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  with  the  wisdom  He  gives 
you,  and  you  shall  slay  giants. 

Paul  tells  us  "that  not  many  wise  men  after 
the  flesh,  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble, 
are  called.  But  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise ; 
and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of 
the  world  to  confound  the  things  which 
are  mighty;  and  base  things  of  the  world, 
and  things  which  are  despised,  hath  God 
chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to 
bring  to  nought  things  which  are,  that  no 
flesh  should  glory  in  His  presence."  (1  Cor. 
1:  26-29.) 


174  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

If  you  were  learned  and  wise  and  mighty, 
and  did  great  things,  people  would  give  all 
the  glory  to  your  learning  and  wisdom ;  but 
if  you  are  little  and  foolish  then  they  have  to 
give  the  glory  to  God.  Go  on,  my  brother, 
and  do  what  you  can. 

When  the  Spirit  of  God  came  on  Shamgar 
he  slew  six  hundred  Philistines  with  an  ox- 
goad,  and  Samson  slew  one  thousand  with 
the  jawbone  of  an  ass,  and  Gideon,  with 
three  hundred  men  armed  only  with  earthen 
pitchers  and  torches,  routed  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  Midianites.  Hallelu- 
jah! 

When  Jesus  blessed  the  five  little  loaves 
and  the  two  small  fishes  of  the  lad,  they  fed 
about  five  thousand  men.  And  so,  if  you  will 
pray  and  believe,  He  will  bless  your  words 
and  works  to  multitudes.  Remember,  it  is 
not  what  you  say  or  do  alone,  but  it  is  His 
blessing  added  to  what  you  say  and  do  that 
accomplishes  the  work,  and  He  will  surely 
add  His  blessing  if  you  will  trust  and  obey. 

I  read  of  an  educated  minister  who  had  a 
skeptical  lawyer  in  his  congregation,  whom 
he  wanted  very  much  to  see  converted  and 
united  with  the  church,  and  for  whose  bene- 
fit he  prepared  some  very  learned  and  labored 
sermons.  One  day,  to  the  minister's  delight, 
the  lawyer  came  to  his  study  with  the  glad 
news  that  he  was  converted  and  wished  to 
join  the  church.  After  some  conversation 
the  pastor  rather  blushingly  inquired,  "May 
I  ask  which  one  of  my  sermons  it  was  that 
led  you  to  Christ?'' 


A   WORD  TO  YOU.  175 

Then  the  lawyer,  with  some  little  confusion, 
replied,  "Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  pastor, 
it  was  not  one  of  your  sermons  that  led  me 
to  Christ  at  all.  It  was  this  way.  A  few 
Sundays  ago  we  were  leaving  the  church,  the 
steps  were  very  slippery,  and  old  colored 
Auntie  Blank  was  trying  to  descend  them. 
She  was  crippled  and  feeble  and  in  danger  of 
falling,  when  I  took  hold  of  her  arm  and 
assisted  her  to  the  sidewalk.  She  looked  up 
into  my  eyes  and  thanked  me,  and,  with  a 
bright  smile  on  her  old  black  face,  asked,  'Do 
you  love  my  Jesus?'  and  that  led  me  to 
Christ."  Ah,  that  was  the  smooth  stone  that 
killed  the  giant  when  Saul's  armor  and  sword 
had  failed. 

Be  a  man  of  much  secret  prayer,  my 
brother.  Acquaint  yourself  with  God ;  take 
time  to  listen  to  His  voice ;  read  your  Bible ; 
love  it,  pray  over  it ;  read  good  books ;  famil- 
iarize yourself  with  the  "Orders  and  Regula- 
tions for  Soldiers,"  by  the  General,  and  you 
will  get  your  mind  stored  with  truths  that 
will  be  to  you  as  David's  smooth  stones,  and 
God  will  surely  use  you  and  make  you  a 
blessing. 

I  remember  well  the  first  time  I  attempted 
to  speak  from  a  text.  I  utterly  failed,  and 
was  filled  with  confusion.  But  by  seeking 
His  face  the  Lord  has  long  since  given  me 
the  victory,  and  I  rejoice  unutterably  at  the 
privilege  of  speaking  for  Him,  and  by  living 
a  life  of  constant  prayer  down  at  Jesus'  feet, 
and  by  a  determined  exercise  of  faith,  I  sel- 
dom open  my  mouth  to  speak  for  Him  with- 


176  HEART   TALKS    ON    HOLINESS. 

out  feeling  a  deep  conviction  in  my  soul  that 
my  words  are  accompanied  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  are  hitting  the  mark  and  reaching 
hearts.  And  this  may  be  your  experience, 
my  brother,  my  sister,  if  you  will  utterly 
forsake  sin,  consecrate  yourself  fully  to  the 
interests  of  Jesus,  steadfastly  believe  and 
continue  in  prayer.  God  said  to  Moses,  "I 
will  be  with  thy  mouth,"  and  He  will  say 
the  same  to  you  if  you  wait  on  Him.  He  is 
no  respecter  of  persons. 


FOOLS   FOR  CHRIST'S   SAKE  177 


XXVII. 


FOOLS   FOR  CHRIST'S   SAKE. 

To  the  natural  heart  and  the  unsanctified 
mind  the  commands  of  God  are  foolishness. 
"Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy 
kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  into  a 
land  that  I  will  show  thee,"  said  God  to 
Abraham.  How  foolish  to  leave  home  and 
wealth  and  greatness  to  go  to  a  land  that  he 
knew  not !  But  Abraham  believed  and 
obeyed  and  became  heir  of  the  world. 

"I  will  send  thee  unto  Pharaoh  that  thou 
mayest  bring  forth  My  people,  the  children 
of  Israel,  out  of  Egypt,"  was  God's  word  to 
Moses.  What  folly  for  this  poor  shepherd, 
who  forty  years  before  had  fled  from  the  face 
of  Pharaoh  a  condemned  murderer  and 
hunted  vagabond,  to  seek  to  deliver  a  nation 
of  slaves  from  the  iron  hand  of  the  haughti- 
est, mightiest  monarch  on  earth !  But  he  be- 
lieved and  obeyed,  and  the  proud  king  was 
humbled  to  the  dust  and  the  nation  of  slaves 
was  freed. 


178  H^ART    TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

"For  I  have  appeared  unto  thee  for  this  pur- 
pose, to  make  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness 
both  of  these  things  which  thou  hast  seen, 
and  of  those  things  in  the  which  I  shall  ap- 
pear unto  thee,  delivering  thee  from  the  peo- 
ple and  from  the  Gentiles,  unto  whom  now 
I  send  thee,  to  open  their  eyes  and  to  turn 
them  from  darkness  to  light  and  from  the 
power  of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  re- 
ceive forgiveness  of  sins  and  inheritance 
among  them  which  are  sanctified  by  laith 
that  is  in  Me,"  said  the  Lord  to  Paul.  Think 
of  it !  One  lone  man  belonging  to  a  con- 
quered, despised,  hated  people,  sent  to  the 
proud,  idolatrous,  utterly  godless  nations 
with  the  message  that  a  crucified  Jew  was 
the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
and  that  there  was  no  salvation  except  in 
His  name.  What  foolhardiness  for  this  man 
without  wealth,  national  prestige,  political 
power  or  social  favor  to  start  out  in  the  face 
of  bitter  religious  hatred  and  contempt,  and 
national  and  political  antagonism,  to  convert 
a  lost  world  to  this  new  faith  of  a  day! 
But  he  was  "not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly 
vision."  He  went  and  the  Holy  Ghost  went 
with  him.  He  went  to  unparalleled  toils  and 
sufferings,  but  he  won  unparalleled  victories 
and  heavenly  joys  and  consolations. 

They  whipped  him  time  and  again;  they 
stoned  him ;  they  thrust  him  into  dark, 
loathsome  dungeons,  reeking  with  slime  and 
filth ;  three  times  he  suffered  shipwreck,  he 
made  long  and  tedious  journeys  when  there 
were  no  ocean  greyhounds  and  no  lightning 


FOOLS   FOR  CHRIST'S   SAKE.  179 

express  trains  with  Pullman  palace  and  dining 
cars.  He  was  in  perils  from  the  water,  from 
robbers,  from  his  own  countrymen,  from  the 
heathen,  in  the  city,  in  the  wilderness,  in  the 
sea,  and,  worst  of  all,  among  false  brethren. 
He  suffered  from  weariness  and  painfulness; 
from  watchings  often  when  it  would  have 
been  death  to  him  to  go  to  sleep;  from  hun- 
ger and  thirst,  from  fastings  often  when  his 
spirit  was  so  engaged  with  his  tremendous 
labors  and  difficulties  that  his  body  refused 
food ;  from  cold  and  nakedness,  besides  the 
care  of  all  the  churches  with  their  young  con- 
verts just  saved  from  heathenism  and  contin- 
ually beset  by  false  teachers  within,  as  well 
as  suffering  the  most  dreadful  persecutions 
from  without. 

But  none  of  these  things  moved  him,  and 
God  helped  him  to  do  more  to  bring  the 
world  to  God  than  any  other  man  who  ever 
lived. 

Does  your  call  to  work  for  God  seem  fool- 
ish, unreasonable,  impossible?  "Have  faith 
in  God."  Obey  like  Abraham  and  Moses  and 
Paul,  and  you  will  yet  praise  Him  for  all 
the  way  He  led  you  and  for  the  part  He 
gave  you  to  do  in  winning  the  world  from 
Satan  back  to  God. 

An  officer  now  by  my  side  had  been  a 
soldier  for  some  years ;  at  last  he  felt  he 
would  some  time  have  to  go  into  the  work. 
The  call  came  while  his  hammer  was  lifted 
to  strike  a  blow.  He  was  not  disobedient  to 
the  cal'l  of  God.  The  blow  was  not  struck, 
and  before  noon  he  had  sold  his  kit  of  tools, 


180  HEART   TALKS   ON    HOLINESS. 

and  for  years  he  has  been  a  successful  officer 
and  is  daily  increasing  in  the  gifts  and 
graces  of  those  God  calls  to  be  leaders. 

Does  God  call  you?  Be  not  disobedient  to 
the  heavenly  vision.  Stay  not  in  the  order 
of  your  going.  Let  nothing  hinder  you.  Go, 
and  God^  will  be  with  you  as  He  was  with 
Moses  and  Paul,  and  as  the  years  speed  by 
you  will  increasingly  thank  God  that  no  busi- 
ness prospects,  no  fond  friendships,  no  lust 
of  power  or  love  of  secluded  ease  kept  you 
from  the  battle's  front  with  its  burdens  and 
bitter  conflicts  and  fierce  sorrows  and  soul- 
satisfying  triumphs.  One  soul  joining  in  the 
anthem  of  the  redeemed  ones  around  the 
Throne,  saved  from  hell  through  your  labors, 
will  pay  you  for  all  your  toils ;  one  look  at 
the  face  of  Jesus  will  reward  you  for  all 
your  privations.  What  care  Peter  and  John 
and  Paul  now,  if  they  did  lose  all  to  follow 
Jesus,  and  did  suffer  and  die  for  the  men 
they  sought  to  save?  And  what  will  you 
care? 


SALVATION  ARMY  PUBLICATIONS. 


BY    THE   LATE   GENERAL. 

Salvation  Soldiery.  Stirring  Addresses  on  the  Re- 
quirements of  Jesus'  Christ's  Service.  Every  page 
full  of  Burning  Truths.  156  pages.  Illustrated. 
Gilt  Edges.  Cloth,  60c. 

The  Training  of  Children.  Important  to  Parents. 
This  book  shows  how  to  make  Children  into  Saints 
and  Soldiers.  260  pages.  Paper,  30c. 

The  Doctrines  of  The  Salvation  Army.  119  pages. 
Limp  cloth,  30c. 

Orders  and  Regulations  for  Field  Officers.  New 
Edition.  634  pages.  Red  Cloth  Boards,  $2.10. 

The  Why  and  Wherefore  of  the  Rules  and  Regula- 
tions of  The  Salvation  Army.  107  pages.  Paper, 
30c. 

The  Salvation  Soldiers'  Guide.  Containing  a  Bible 
Chapter  for  the  Morning  and  Evening  of  Every 
Day  in  the  Year,  with  Fragments  for  Midday 
Reading.  480  pages.  Red  French  Morocco, 
Circuit  Gilt  Edges,  $1;  Red  Leather,  75c.;  Red 
Cloth,  50c. 

Orders  and  Regulations  for  Soldiers  of  The  Salvation 
Army.  164  pages.  Paper,  6c. 

Purity  of  Heart.  A  valuable  Collection  of  Letters  to 
Salvationists  on  Personal  Holiness1.  Cloth,  35c. 

Religion  for  Every  Day.  Vol.  1.  An  invaluable  Work 
for  Every  Salvationist,  dealing  with  matters  affect- 
ing Soul,  Body,  Family,  Business,  etc.  Cloth,  65e. 

Love,  Marriage,  and  Home.  Being  Vol.  2  of  "Religion 
for  Every  Day."  Cloth,  65c. 

BIT  THE  LATE  MRS.  GENERAL  BOOTH. 

Life  and  Death.  Stirring  Addresses  to  the  Unsaved. 
Thoughtful  and  Powerful  Appeals.  206  pages. 
Cloth,  60c. 

Oodllness.  Searching  Disquisitions  on  Important 
Phases  of  the  Spiritual  Growth.  177  pages.  Cloth, 
Gilt  Edges,  60c. ;  Paper,  30c. 

Practical  Religion.  One  of  the  grandest  books  of 
the  age.  Invaluable  for  Teachers  of  Sanctiflcation 
214  pages.  Cloth,  70c. 


Popular  Christianity.  All  Seekers  after  True  Re- 
ligion should  read  this  book.  Christs  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century  compared  with  the  Christ  of  God ; 
Cowardly  Service  v.  the  Real  Warfare,  etc.  198 
pages.  Cloth,  75c. 

The  Salvation  Army  in  Relation  to  the  Church  and 
State.  92  pages.  Cloth,  40c. 

Aggrressive  Christianity.  Series  of  Papers  on  Chris- 
tian Warfare.  193  pages.  Cloth,  60c. ;  Paper,  30c. 

BY    GENERAL,   BRAMWELL,  BOOTH. 

Books  That  Bless.  A  Series  of  Pungent  Reviews, 
reprinted  by  request  from  the  War  Cry.  Not  a 
dry  paragraph  in  the  whole  book.  Just  the  sort  of 
literature  to  keep  the  heart  warm  and  enthusiastic 
for  souls.  191  pages.  Cloth,  60c. 

Servants  of  All.  A  book  for  Soldiers  and  Friends. 
Description  of  the  Officers  of  The  Army  and  their 
Work.  167  pages.  Cloth,  Bevelled  Boards,  60c. ; 
Paper,  30c. 

On  the  Banks  of  the  River.  A  brief  history  of  the 
Last  Days  on  Earth  of  Mrs.  General  Booth.  Illus- 
trated. 142  pages.  Cloth  Boards,  35c. 

Bible  Battle-Axes.  A  reprint  of  short  Scripture 
Studies  from  The  Field  Officer  magazine.  (Care- 
fully revised.)  Published  in  separate  form,  by 
request.  182  pages.  Cloth,  45c. 

Our  Master.  Thoughts  for  Salvationists  about  their 
Lord.  Cloth,  85c. 

BY   THE   CHIEF   OF   THE   STAFF. 

Standards  of  Life  and  Service.  This  book  contains 
a  number  of  addresses  given  by  Commissioner 
Howard  in  a  series  of  holiness  meetings  that 
were  the  means  of  blessing,  uplift  and  inspiration 
to  thousands.  Cloth,  80c.,  postpaid. 

COMMANDER    EVANGELINE    BOOTH. 

Love  Is  All.    Cloth,  35c. 

BY    COMMISSIONER    BOOTH    TUCKER. 

The  Consul.      A    Sketch     of    Emma    Booth    Tucker. 

Cloth,  25c. 
The  Life  of  Mrs.  Booth,  The  Mother  of  The  Salvation 

Army.     Two  Volumes.     Cloth,  $1.00. 


BY   COLONEL  S.  L.   BRENGLE. 
"When    the    Holy    Ghost    I»    Come."      Small    Cloth 

Edition,  30c.,  postpaid.     Large  Cloth  Edition,  75c., 

postpaid. 
Heart   Talks  on   Holiness.     Heart  to   Heart.     Cloth, 

30c. 

In  this  book  Colonel  Brengle  deals  with  the  sub- 
ject of  holiness  in  an  original,  simple,  yet  compre- 
hensive manner.  It  is  a  book  for  every-day,  ordi- 
nary working  men  and  women,  and  will  show  them 
how  to  keep  the  blessing  and  to  be  in  the  world 
and  yet  not  of  it. 
The  Way  of  Holiness.  "Tell  me  the  story  simply." 

Cloth,  30c. 

Though    this    dainty    little    book    was    especially 
written  for  young   people  it  is  equally  suitable  for 
adults. 
The     Soul-winner's     Secret.      For    full     equipment. 

Cloth,  30c. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  comprehen- 
sive or  "all-round"  work  than  this  "Soul-winner's 
Secret;"  mentally  and  physically,  as  well  as  spirit- 
ually, it  touches  the  reader,  and  those  in  need  can- 
not fail  to  get  help,  while  others  will  be  equally 
interested  and  inspired. 
Helps  to  Holiness.  Puzzles  solved.  Cloth,  30c. 

If  you  are  in  any  sort  of  difficulty  or  fog  this  is 
exactly  the  book  for  you.  If  you  are  a  worker  you 
cannot  afford  to  be  without  it,  and  as  a  book  of 
reference  it  holds  a  place  of  its  own. 

The  set,  consisting;  of  5  vols.,  $1.35  net. 

Twice-born  Men.  By  Harold  Begbie.  A  Clinic  in 
Regeneration.  50c.  A  footnote  in  narrative  to 
Prof.  Wm.  James'  "The  Varieties  of  Religious 
Experience,"  The  most  widely  discussed  book  of 
the  generation. 

Other  Sheep.  By  Harold  Begbie.  Formerly  $1.00, 
now  25c.  This  book  is  a  veritable  Hindu  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  which  reveals  to  us  a  condition  of 
ecstatic  Christianity  in  the  stronghold  of  Buddha, 
producing  saints  and  achieving  miracles  with  a 
childlike  simplicity  of  faith,  of  which  the  West 
has  had  no  experience  since  the  passing  of 
Medievalism. 

The  Salvagre  of  Men.  Stories  of  Humanity  touched 
by  Divinity.  By  Agnes  L.  Palmer.  Formerly  $1.00, 


now  25c.  What  Harold  Begble,  in  his  "Twice-born 
Men,"  did  to  illuminate  and  illustrate  the  work  of 
The  Salvation  Army  in  old  London,  Agnes  L. 
Palmer  has  essayed  in  "The  Salvage  of  Men,"  a 
collection  of  stories  which  portray  personal  expe- 
riences and  observation  in  the  regeneration  work 
of  The  Salvation  Army  in  New  York. 
The  Authoritative  Life  of  the  General.  By  Commis- 
sioner Railton.  Cloth,  formerly  $1.00,  now  25c. 

SALVATION  ARMY  PERIODICALS. 

The  War  Cry.  The  Official  Gazette  of  The  Salvation 
Army,  containing  news1  of  the  War  in  all  parts  of 
the  world;  interesting  biographies;  holiness  arti- 
cles; new  and  original  songs.  Fully  illustrate'!. 
5c.  weekly.  Annual  subscription,  $2.00,  post  free. 

The  Young  Soldier.  Paper  for  Children.  Profusely 
illustrated.  Every  child  should  have  it.  Salvation 
reading  on  every  page.  Ic.  weekly.  Annual  sub- 
scription, 50c.,  post  free. 

All  the  World.  A  Monthly  Record  of  Salvation  Army 
Missionary  Work  in  all  lands.  Illustrated.  Price 
lOc.  monthly.  Annual  subscription,  $1.00,  post  free. 

The  Deliverer.  The  Organ  of  the  Women's  Social 
Work.  A  most  interesting  Journal.  Numerous 
illustrations.  Monthly.  Annual  subscription,  50c., 
post  free. 

War  Service  Herald.  Dealing  with  The  Salvation 
Army's  War  Activities'.  Copious  illustrations, 
or.  monthly.  Annual  subscription,  50c.,  post  free. 

WALL    MOTTO1LS. 

We  carry  the  largest  stock  and  are  the  biggest 
importers  of  this  class  of  goods  in  the  United  States. 
Bright,  energetic  people  wanted  everywhere  to  sell 
those  beautiful  mottoes.  Full  particulars1  will  be 
sent  free  with  our  catalog  containing  over  500  differ- 
ent styles  to  select  from. 

Why  not  become  an  Agent? 
A  $5.00  package  brings  $10.00  when  sold. 

Address  all  orders  to 

TRADE  SECRETARY,  "^K 


UCSB  LIBRARY 


